Bangkok Bombing: Tenth Suspect Sought By Thai Police In Erawan Shrine Attack

Thai police said Saturday they are seeking a tenth suspect linked to last month’s bombing in central Bangkok that killed 20 people, mostly foreigners, and injured over 100. On Friday, Thai police revealed that a suspect, who was earlier described as the bomber, is a conspirator of the attack.

Authorities will seek an arrest warrant for the tenth suspect who shared an apartment with another suspect -- identified as Adem Karadag -- who was arrested a week ago when police raided houses in the outskirts of Bangkok, police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri said Saturday, according to the Associated Press (AP). Police had found bomb-making materials in two apartments during the raids. Prawut reportedly said that the man's nationality was not known.

Authorities brought Karadag to court Saturday to obtain permission to extend his detention, the AP reported, adding that he is facing a charge for illegal possession of explosives.

Thai police said Friday that a man, who was arrested near Thailand’s border with Cambodia, was unlikely the man in a yellow T-shirt, who is believed to have planted the bomb in a backpack at the Erawan Shrine on Aug. 17. His DNA samples did not match with those found on evidence believed to have been left behind in a taxi that the bomber used to escape after planting the bomb, Prawut reportedly said. However, authorities believe that he was involved in the bombing as his DNA was found in the two apartments raided by police over the weekend. His nationality is also unknown, according to the AP.

Authorities have issued arrest warrants for seven other suspects as investigators continue their probe to find a motive behind the attack.

On Thursday, Thai authorities suggested that at least two of the nine suspects were possibly Turkish. However, the Turkish Embassy in Bangkok issued a statement saying that it had not received any notification from Thai officials about the nationalities of the suspects. According to reports, the bombing may have been carried out by a group seeking to avenge Thailand’s forced deportation of Uighurs -- a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic minority from China's northwestern province of Xinjiang -- in July.

Thai police have also issued arrest warrants for a Thai woman, Wanna Suansan, and her husband, a Turkish man, identified as Emrah Davutoglu, both of whom are believed to be in Turkey. Wanna reportedly said in interviews with Thai media that she was innocent.