News Digest

Malaysia arrests three suspects in connection with Bangkok shrine blast

Malaysia has arrested three suspects in connection with the bomb blast in central Bangkok last month that killed 20 people, police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said on Monday. Two Malaysians and a Pakistani national were arrested and were assisting with the investigation, Khalid said. They were held following a tip-off by Thai police. They say the man who may have actually planted the bomb may have fled across Thailand’s southern border to Malaysia, but Khalid refused to speculate on that.

Malaysian and Thai police are working closely in cooperation.

Khalid Abu Bakar

The Aug. 17 blast at the Erawan Shrine in the Thai capital killed 20 people, including five Malaysians from one family and one British law student, and injured more than 120. Two key suspects are also in custody in Thailand, charged with possession of illegal explosives. Over the weekend, Thailand issued an arrest warrant for a 27-year-old Muslim man called Abudusataer Abudureheman, also known as Ishan, from Xinjiang. Thailand has suggested that those behind the blast may have been from a gang involved in smuggling Uighurs from the Xinjiang region.