‘We don’t know where they are’: Thai police say they are unable to find 15 suspects in connection with Bangkok shrine blast
No group claimed responsibility for the attacks that killed 20 and the two Uygur Muslims suspects who have been arrested deny all charges
Thai police cannot find 15 suspects in connection with a bomb at a shrine in Bangkok last year that killed 20 people, an officer said on Wednesday, as two ethnic Uygur Muslims from China accused of involvement appeared in a military court.
No group claimed responsibility for the August 17 blast at the Erawan Shrine, a central tourist spot popular with visitors from China and elsewhere in Asia. Five of the dead were from China and two from Hong Kong. More than 120 people were wounded.
Analysts, diplomats and even officials suspected the attack was linked to Uygur sympathisers angered by Thailand’s deportation of more than 100 Uygurs to China the previous month.
But police ruled out “terrorism” and said the attack was retaliation for a crackdown on human-smuggling.
The two suspects who were arrested – Yusufu Mieraili and Adem Karadag– are Uygur Muslims, a minority from western China who speak a Turkic language. They have denied all charges.
Police have issued arrest warrants for 15 other people, eight of whom are thought to be either Turkish or in Turkey, according to the warrants and police statements.
