Bangkok bombing: Police hunt for man and woman after new raid

A Thai court has issued arrest warrants for two new suspects believed to be connected to the deadly explosion at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine this month.

The warrants were issued Sunday and also related to an explosion heard at the Sathorn pier on the banks of the city's Chao Phraya River on the day of the shrine attack, national police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri told CNN on Monday.

Images of the two suspects, a Thai woman and an unidentified man, were made public during a televised statement by Thai police Monday afternoon, following a weekend raid on their Minburi suburb residence, where bomb-making material was found.

Wanna Suansan, 26, is seen in a photo released by police wearing a hijab. She's originally from Phang Nga, a province in southern Thailand, Prawut told CNN.

She is the only suspect Thai authorities have identified by name to date, but her mother has told police that she left Thailand two months ago "to stay with her husband in Turkey," Col. Saharat Saksilapachai said.

The unidentified male is seen in a police sketch with dark hair and a mustache.

 

Earlier raid

 

Meanwhile, another unidentified man suspected of being involved in the Erawan bombing, which killed 20 people and injured many more, has denied any involvement, despite the discovery of bomb-making material, including fuses, at his home in another suburb in the Thai capital Saturday, according to Prawut.

 

Thai police arrest suspect in Bangkok bombing 

However, he is not the man in a yellow T-shirt and dark-framed glasses who was identified from surveillance video as the chief suspect in the bombing, Prawut said.

"The man we have is not the man in the sketch, but we believe he is part of the network which carried out the two bomb incidents," he said.

Prawut initially said the suspect arrested Saturday was a Turkish national. But he subsequently told CNN: "At first we thought he is Turkish. But we just found out two Turkish passports he is holding are all fake.

"We also found many empty fake passports, also various kinds of evidence."

READ: Bangkok blast victim: 'I lost everything'

Prawut said investigators hunting for clues had "also found the same type of ball bearings in this man's apartment."

High-ranking police officers, forensic experts and army personnel were all seen outside the building shortly after news of the arrest broke.

The apartment is in the Nong Jok suburb, an area known to house a large Muslim community.

 

No claim of responsibility

 

The deadly explosion at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine -- a spot popular with tourists and locals -- wreaked havoc on August 17.

 

Victim's families visit site of Bangkok bombing 

Authorities have said the main suspect they're seeking is an unidentified foreigner, the man in the yellow T-shirt, who was caught on surveillance video hiding a backpack under a bench at the shrine minutes before the bomb detonated.

At least 10 people may have taken part in the bombing, but the attack is unlikely to be linked to international terrorist groups, Thai authorities said.

Police said a week ago that they no longer believed that three other people seen near the main suspect on surveillance video were involved in the attack.

 

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com