What we know so far
Thai police are searching for a man they believe left a backpack bomb at a Bangkok shrine that exploded amid a crowd of worshippers, killing 20 people and wounding more than 100 others. No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, which occurred at the Erawan shrine in one of the Thai capital's popular tourism and upscale shopping districts.
The suspected bomber
The first glimpse came a day after the blast when police disclosed grainy security footage of a man casually walking into the shrine with a backpack on. He sits on a bench close to some iron railings that surround the shrine, puts the rucksack under a bench and slowly walks away while apparently looking at his smartphone. Three minutes later a bomb explodes in that exact spot. Yesterday the authorities released a detailed digital sketch of the suspect gleaned from higher quality CCTV footage which has not been released. A court Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for an unnamed 'foreign man'.
Was he acting alone?
Police are increasingly confident the man seen on Monday night must have had accomplices, both to build the devices and plan the attack. "It's a network," national police chief General Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters yesterday. "We believe there must be people helping him, Thai people." Police believes "at least three people" were involved in the plot.
Who to blame for the attack?
Many groups have been discussed as potential culprits, but security experts say there are strong reasons to discount each and are baffled over who is responsible.
Political rivals: Thailand is amidst a political crisis. But experts say neither side, either the military backed elites or ousted Thai Peu party, had much to gain by launching an attack of Monday's scale, risking opprobrium from the Thai public.
Local Muslim insurgents: Insurgents are fighting for greater autonomy in the country's three Muslim-majority states bordering Malaysia annexed by Thailand a century ago. More than 6,400 people -- mostly civilians -- have died in the last decade of conflict there. But there are no indications Muslim rebels have suddenly taken their localised fight beyond southern Thailand.
Uighurs: Some Thai media outlets have pointed a finger of suspicion at militants from China's Uighur minority. Last month Thailand forcibly repatriated more than 100 Uighur refugees to China. But Uighur groups are not known to have ever carried out an attack outside China.
The Islamic State group: ISIS networks usually claim credit swiftly for their attacks. So far they have made no claims.
What about the second attack?
On Tuesday, shortly after 1:00 pm, one or more people threw an explosive device from a bridge into a canal near the busy Saphan Taksin Skytrain station. No one was harmed. Police have yet to decide whether the two incidents are linked. Colonel Kamthorn Ouicharoen, head of Bangkok's bomb squad, told reporters both devices were "exactly the same".
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