Police hunt ‘foreigner’ in deadly bombing of Bangkok shrine

A police manhunt was underway Wednesday for an “unidentified foreign man” shown in a security video leaving a backpack at a popular Bangkok shrine just minutes before a bomb exploded there. Two other people seen on the video near the man are also considered suspects in Monday’s deadly bombing, police said. Authorities released a sketch of the man who left behind the backpack and offered a 1 million baht ($28,000) reward for information leading to his arrest. But apart from the rough portrait, they had few solid leads in Monday’s bombing at the Erawan Shrine that killed 20 people and wounded 120 others.

If citizens or anyone can give us information or clues that lead to the arrest of this man, I have set a reward of 1 million baht.

Police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri

Two days after the attack, which authorities have called the worst in Thai history, the shrine reopened to the public. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast at one of the capital’s busiest intersections during evening rush hour. The attack has raised concerns about safety in a city that draws millions of tourists. Bangkok has seen politically charged violence in the past decade. The deadliest, in 2010, killed more than 90 people in two months and was centered on the same intersection where Monday’s bomb went off. But none of those attacks included a bomb that seemed intended to produce mass casualties.

He didn’t do it alone, for sure. It’s a network.

Police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri

Asia-Pacific Bangkok