Malaysia detains eight suspects, including four Uygurs, over Bangkok bombing

Eight people, including four believed to be ethnic Uygurs, have been detained in Malaysia for questioning in connection with last month’s bombing of a shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people, a senior official said on Wednesday.

National deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said they were detained in the past week in Kuala Lumpur as well as in northeastern Kelantan state.

Four of the eight were Malaysians involved in human trafficking, while another four were believed to be Uygur men who entered the country illegally, he said. While there was no evidence they were directly involved in the bombing they were being investigated to see if they had any role in other activities surrounding the blast.

“Right now, there is no concrete evidence to show that they are directly involved,” Noor Rashid said.

He said Thai police had been notified, and he hoped they could aid in identifying the men. Thailand will need to provide basic proof of their involvement in the bombing if it wanted to extradite the suspects, he said.