Suspect in Bangkok bombing confesses involvement

Bangkok, Sep 9 (IANS/EFE) One of the suspects in the August 17 bombings in Bangkok confessed to giving a bag containing explosives to the perpetrator of the attack, which killed 20 people at a Hindu temple, Thai police said on Wednesday.

Yusufu Miereli was taken to different parts of the city, including the temple and the train station where he allegedly handed over the explosives, to recreate his movements on the day of the attack, police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri told EFE.

Investigators suspect that Miereli and another man, who appears on video taken by security cameras, wearing a yellow t-shirt and planting the backpack containing the bomb on the temple grounds just before the blast are part of the network that masterminded the attack.

Miereli admitted having unsuccessfully tried to take photos of the blast at the temple from a nearby elevated passageway but he denied helping detonate the bomb, Thavornsiri said.

Police have not yet confirmed Miereli's nationality but the passport he was carrying lists his place of birth as the Chinese province of Xinjiang, home of the Uighur Muslim community.

The suspect claims the mastermind of the attack was Abudureheman Abudusataer, also known as "Ishan", who is from Xinjiang and left Thailand a day before the bombing, the Bangkok Post reported, citing sources close to the investigation.

The Post also reported that Miereli confessed that after the bombing he went to an apartment he shared with the person who planted the bomb at the temple and another person seen on security videos throwing a package into the river, where there was an explosion the following day.

Police also arrested another man named Adem Karadag, who was found at an apartment in the Bangkok suburbs with dozens of fake Turkish passports.

Police have requested arrest warrants for 11 people, most of them foreigners.

Thai officials insist on linking the attack to organised crime groups, despite police investigations suggesting it may be linked to the deportation of about 100 Uighurs to China in June.

--IANS/EFE

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