An Iranian man has been badly wounded after a bungled bombing in Thailand. Israel’s defence minster described it as an attempted terrorist attack.
Local reports said the man set off an initial explosion at a house in the city centre which was being rented by three Iranians. He then tried to hail a taxi, hurling a bomb at the driver when he refused to pick him up.
According to witnesses, the bomber then tried to throw a grenade at police, but it “somehow bounced back” – blowing off his legs.
Officers said they had found an Iranian passport, foreign currency and several mobile phones in a bag belonging to the injured man, who has been locally identified as Saeid Moradi. Another suspect was detained at Bangkok’s main airport. He is thought to be one of two Iranians who lived in the house where the first explosion was set off. Police later told reporters a third Iranian, thought to have been hurt in the initial explosion, was still on the run.
Thailand‘s police chief, Priewpan Damapong, visited the scene this evening and said he believed that individuals were the likely target. “The bomb is magnetic and can be stuck to a vehicle,” he said. “It can harm people, but not places.”
Immigration chiefs said that Moradi and the others had arrived in Thailand six days ago, staying in the resort town of Phuket, then spent several nights in Chonburi, south east of the capital.
The attacks came a day after several bombs aimed at Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia – which Israel blamed on Israel and its Lebanese allies, Hezbollah. Iran has denied any involvement. Israel’s defence minister Ehud Barak, who was in Bangkok on Sunday, accused Tehran of continuing to perpretrate terror. “Iran and Hezbollah are unrelenting terror elements endangering the stability of the region, and endangering the stability of the world,” he said.
Thai police have refused to link today’s attacks with the arrest last month of a Lebanese man in Bangkok, accused of having links to Hezbollah. A large amount of explosives were discovered at the time, and Israel, the United States and several other countries warned that of possible terror attacks in areas frequented by foreigners.
Thailand’s prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has urged the public to stay calm. But the attacks have raised fresh fears of a proxy war betwen Israel and Iran being fought out in foreign cities.