Thailand Indicts Two In Bangkok's Erawan Shrine Bombing Case, Says Blast Was Revenge By Traffickers

A military court in Thailand indicted two men believed to have orchestrated the Erawan Shrine bombing in Bangkok in August, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The blast on Aug. 17 killed 20 people, mostly foreign nationals, and left over 120 people injured.

The two men -- identified as Bilal Mohammad and Mieraili Yusufu -- were indicted Tuesday on 10 charges connected to the blast, and Thai officials said there was no political motive behind the attack, according to AP. Officials added that the blast was an act of revenge by human traffickers whose operations were broken up by authorities. The AP report added that both suspects were being held at an army base since they were arrested days after the blast.

Mohammad was reportedly identified as the man in a yellow shirt seen leaving the site of the blast on security camera footage after the explosion while Yusufu was reportedly accused of detonating the bomb. The military court, where the two are being tried, deals with cases of national security since the army came to power in a coup in May 2014.

Officials reportedly have confessions from both men. Mohammad was reportedly promised that his emigration to Turkey would be expedited for his role in the blast, AP reported. In September, Thai authorities -- who suspected the involvement of Turkish nationals in the blast -- had said that the key suspect, Dustar Abdulrahman, alias Izan, had fled to Turkey after playing a lead role in orchestrating the bombing.

The Buddhist-majority country, which witnessed months of political unrest that culminated in the coup by the army last year has also witnessed sporadic insurgency in three of its southernmost, Muslim-majority provinces -- Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.