Bomber part of a network

Thai authorities said yesterday the man who carried out a devastating Bangkok shrine bombing that killed 20 people was a foreigner and part of a network.

Police released a sketch of a young, bespectacled man shown on security footage walking into the crowded Hindu shrine in a popular tourist hub and placing a backpack believed to contain the bomb.

A few hours later a Bangkok court issued an arrest warrant for the man, describing him as a foreigner but not identifying him any further.

The warrant, issued by Bangkok's Southern Criminal Court, accused an "unnamed foreigner of premeditated murder, attempted murder and bomb-making".

Before the arrest warrant was made public, national police chief General Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters a "network" had orchestrated the attack, which has no precedent in the Thai capital.

"We believe there must be people helping him, Thai people," Somyot told reporters, referring to the prime suspect.

The attack occurred on Monday evening as worshippers and tourists crowded into the Erawan shrine in Bangkok's commercial heart, shredding bodies and incinerating motorcycles.

At least 13 foreigners were killed, from China, Hong Kong, Britain, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Another 68 people remained in hospital yesterday, 12 of whom were in critical conditions.

The shrine, a popular tourist attraction that typifies the kingdom's unusual blend of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, reopened yesterday morning with a ceremony led by chanting monks.

Its surroundings had been largely restored and the pools of congealed blood scrubbed away.

Twisted iron railings were the only immediate sign of the blast point, which police believe was caused by a bomb made up of three kilogrammes of high explosives.