Thai police arrest second foreign suspect in bombing

World Today

Royal Thai Army officers walk with a suspect, believed to be involved in the recent Bankgkok blast, after his arrest in Sa Kaeo, near the Thai-Cambodia border in this handout picture released on September 1, 2015. A foreign man arrested by Thai police on Tuesday played a key role in the deadly bombing that ripped through a Bangkok shrine in August, Thai police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said. REUTERS/National Council for Peace and Order/Handout via Reuters

Thailand’s military apprehended a second foreign suspect in connection with the deadly Aug. 17 bombing in central Bangkok, said Winthai Suwaree, spokesman of the National Council for Peace and Order.

The man was arrested in the forest of Thailand’s Sa Kaeo Province near its border with Cambodia at around 11:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, said Winthai in a televised press briefing.

Police say that it is believed that the suspect is an important member of the group that perpetrated the Erawan Shrine bombing.

Read more coverage on the Bangkok bombing

“From our investigation and the evidence we have collected, we can confirm that this man is from the same network as the previous suspect. We are quite confident they were both involved with the two blasts in Bangkok,” according to Thai police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri.

The suspect looks similar to a yellow-shirted man from security camera footage. In the footage, the man left a backpack at the shrine shortly before the explosion on Aug. 17, said Winthai.

Thai police said that they will learn more by examining the suspect’s DNA, fingerprints and other physical features. Winthai also said that the authorities will keep the public posted as the investigation continues.

The authorities have also issued arrest warrants for three other men, including two Turkish nationals and one of an unknown nationality.

Over the weekend, a 28-year-old foreign national was arrested as police seized explosives and more than 200 passports from his apartment.

The Aug. 17 deadly explosion took lives of 20 people with more than 120 wounded.