Thai authorities arrest new suspect in deadly Bangkok bombing

[BANGKOK] Thai authorities arrested a foreign man near the border with Cambodia, the second suspect detained in connection with a deadly bomb attack in central Bangkok two weeks ago.

The man was arrested in the province of Sa Kaeo and is being escorted to Bangkok, junta leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha told reporters on Tuesday. He was arrested this morning after an intelligence tip off the night before, Mr Prayuth said.

"There is evidence that this guy is linked to this case," Mr Prayuth said. "This man should plug in the jigsaw with the guy that was arrested earlier." The Aug 17 blast during evening rush hour in the Ratchaprasong shopping district killed 20 people including tourists from across Asia. Authorities have been hunting for a man captured on security footage who left a backpack at the site, plus a man seen dropping an explosive device into a canal that exploded the next day and injured no one.

A series of raids in recent days has netted authorities a number of leads and one suspect, a 28-year-old man of unknown nationality who is being held at a military camp for questioning. Authorities say the man was found Saturday with bomb-making materials and some fake passports in a rental apartment on the outskirts of Bangkok, and is linked to the Bangkok blast.

A search of another apartment block led authorities to issue arrest warrants for two further suspects - one an unidentified male and the other a 26-year-old Thai woman. Local media have reported the woman as saying she lives in Turkey and denying involvement in the attack.

Theories on perpetrators have ranged from groups disenfranchised by last year's military coup, to insurgents active in southern Thailand, to a Turkish nationalist group opposed to Thailand's deportation of Muslim Uighurs to China.

BLOOMBERG