Ankara Asks Thai Authorities About Bombing Suspect

Thai authorities have not given any information over claims that a key suspect in the plotting of last month's deadly bombing in Bangkok was last tracked via multiple flights to Turkey, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said Sept. 15.

Thai police stated that a man said to have played a leadership role in the bombing fled to Bangladesh using a Chinese passport on the eve of the blast and two weeks later stopped in New Delhi and Abu Dhabi on his way to Istanbul.

Thailand's Turkish embassy sent a note to the foreign ministry about the claims, but could not receive any information, Bilgiç said. Turkey would launch an investigation if Thai authorities informed Ankara about the allegations, he added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Aug. 17 bombing at the Erawan Hindu shrine, which killed 20 people, including 14 foreigners, among them seven from Hong Kong and mainland China.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a man using the name Abu Dustar Abdulrahman, alias Izan, and circulated via Interpol.

In Kuala Lumpur, police said two Malaysians and a Pakistani national had been arrested and were assisting in the investigation.

Thai visas were issued separately in Kuala Lumpur to men using the names Abu Dustar Abdulrahman and Yusufu Mieraili.

Both had applied using Chinese passports, which has led to speculation the bombing may have been revenge by sympathizers of Uighur Muslims, many of which seek passage to Turkey via Thailand.

Thailand was condemned in July for forcibly repatriating 109 Uighurs to China, where they say they are persecuted, an accusation Beijing rejects. - Ankara