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Saa kom der endelig anholdelser af bombemistaenkte.

Thai police detain 15 suspects over New Year's bombings in Bangkok.

Posted: 20 January 2007 1830 hrs

BANGKOK : Authorities in Thailand have detained 15 suspects Saturday including some military officers in a string of New Year's bombings in Bangkok that killed three people and stunned the thriving capital, police said.

Three people were killed and 42 injured on December 31 when eight small coordinated bomb blasts ripped through Bangkok as revellers were preparing to bring in the New Year.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, installed after a coup four months ago, said he had been informed of progress on the case, but refused to disclose what government agency the suspects worked for.

He has previously blamed the blasts on supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, while Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said he thought the culprits were "men in uniform" - either police or military.

Thaksin has vehemently denied any link to the blasts, deeming the allegations "baseless", and linked the attacks to an ongoing separatist insurgency in Thailand's Muslim-majority south.

Earlier Saturday, Surayud said he did not want to rush police investigations into the case, for fear they would arrest a scapegoat.

"I already asked the national police chief to work quickly on the case and yield results soon, but the investigation must be prudent and based on forensic and scientific evidence," he said. - CNA/ch

[url]www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/253678/1/.html[/url]

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NEW YEAR'S EVE BOMBS
Military men arrested.

Close aide to CNS heavyweight claims detentions are a sham.

Police and the military yesterday rounded up 13 people suspected of being involved in the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok.

The suspects are both military and civilian. The raids took place at nearly 20 locations in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Lop Buri.

Pol Lt Gen Panupong Singha Na Ayuthaya said police are examining arms and other evidence confiscated from these places.

Three of the suspects were identified as Lt-Colonel Suchart Kudseung-nern and sergeants Sommai Tarabhumi and Jessadaporn Fongjamon of the Army's special warfare unit based in Lop Buri.

Police and military officers investigating the bombings also arrested Pipop Jungreung-on of Bangkok and Songdej Saengprateep of Lop Buri.

Other suspects were not identified but police and Army sources
said another three suspects were also "men in uniform" arrested at an Army camp in Bang Khaen district of in Bangkok.

The New Year's Eve bombings killed three and wounded 40 more.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont declined to comment on yesterday's arrests.

"I don't want to go into details because investigations are under way and all are suspects only," he said.

Earlier, the prime minister had said the attacks were not related to violence in the South.

Police sources said Pipop, a Bang-kok mini-van operator, had been implicated in last year's plot to assassinate then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

However, a close aide to key Council for National Security member General Saprang Kalayanamitr dismissed the arrests as "pre-arranged" events to save national police chief General Kowit Wattana from the sack.

"General Saprang was informed two days ago that police would do this. The work appears to be lacking credibility. It is intended just to help the national police chief," said the aide, who requested anonymity.

Surayud had earlier urged Kowit to speed up investigation into the attacks.

[url]www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/21/headlines/headlines_30024687.php[/url]

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Police hold another six in bombing investigation.

(BangkokPost.com)
Police have announced they are holding and questioning six more men on suspicion of involvement in the New Year's Eve bombing in Bangkok.

The announcement did not make clear how many people are in custody altogether. Police sources on Saturday indicated that 15 people were arrested in a series of coordinated raids around Bangkok and in Lop Buri.

The Crime Suppression Division said on Sunday morning that three of the additional suspects are military men. One is a colonel who was assigned to the Army's Special Forces headquarters in Lop Buri province, north of Bangkok. The others are enlisted men.

It is not known if the military men are being held separately from others being held in the bombing case.

Last evening, an announcement said, police arrested a man and took him directly to the Crime Suppression Division command in central Bangkok for additional questioning. He was identified as Songdet Saengpratheep, and police officers said he was also brought from Lop Buri province.

Interrogation sessions have lasted up to six hours, police said.

[url]www.bangkokpost.com/topstories.php?id=116185[/url]

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18 held in Bangkok bomb investigation; More likely to be arrested.

(BangkokPost.com, Agencies)

Police have detained 18 soldiers and civilians for questioning about the New Year's Eve bombing waves in Bangkok, First Army commander Lt Gen Prayudh Janocha said this morning.

He confirmed that more people are likely to be "invited" to help in the bombing inquiry.

"They have been invited to provide information because the police investigation has learned that they might have known something about the bombs," said Lt-Gen Prayudh, whose troops cover Bangkok and the central region of the country.

The men, taken from locations in Bangkok and army units in nearby provinces over the weekend, are in police or military custody.

The 18 are being detained under martial law rules which demand they be charged within a week or freed.

Lt-Gen Prayudh confirmed BangkokPost.com reports that some of the detained soldiers were from the Special Forces, based at Lop Buri, north of Bangkok.

Police have not yet officially released the names of the detained men. Coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said on Sunday people from "four colours," referring to the army, navy, air force and police, were involved in the bombs.

[url]www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=116209[/url]

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Militærfolk tilbageholdt i Thailands terrorsag.

Af Ole Damkjær
13 personer - heraf otte militærfolk - mistænkes for at være involveret i terrorbomberne nytårsaften i Thailands hovedstad.

Sikkerhedsstyrkerne i Thailand har tilbageholdt 13 personer, som mistænkes for at være indblandet i terrorbomberne, der nytårsaften kostede tre mennnesker livet og sårede 40 andre i hovedstaden Bangkok.
Otte af de anholdte er militærfolk, der er blevet pågrebet i Bangkok og i militære lokaliteter i tre nærliggende provinser.
Ifølge Thailands militære myndigheder har politiets efterforskning i terrorsagen vist, at de 13 tilbageholdte kan sidde inde med viden om bomberne.
Den thailandske premierminister, der er indsat af militæret efter kuppet i september sidste år, er afmålt i sin kommentar til anholdelserne.
»Jeg vil ikke gå i detaljer, fordi efterforskningen er i gang, og fordi alle kun er mistænkte,« siger Surayud Chulanont til den thailandske avis The Nation.

Thaksin afviser
Ingen har taget ansvaret for terrorbomberne, men premierministeren har afvist, at de har noget med de muslimske oprørsgrupper i det sydlige Thailand at gøre. Til gengæld peger Thailands nye magthavere på folk fra det afsatte styre som de mulige ansvarlige for terroren, som turistlandet Thailand er særlig følsom over for.
Den afsatte premierminister, Thaksin Shinawatra, afviser kategorisk at han har noget med bomberne at gøre. Thaksin var til FN-møde i New York, da militæret i september i fjor tog magten, og han har ikke været i Thailand siden.
Til gengæld har den omstridte rigmand og nu tidligere premierminister været på turnè i flere lande - blandt andre asiatiske - og det tolkes af militærstyret som om, at Thaksin har gang i et politisk kandestøberi. Især er militærregeringen blevet fortørnet over, at Thaksin i Singapore fik mulighed for og lov til at mødes med sin tidligere vicepremierminister. Thailand har i vrede aflyst et ellers planlagt besøg, som Singapores udenrigsminister skulle have aflagt i Thailand.

[url]www.berlingske.dk/udland/artikel:aid=852782/[/url]