Hua Hin and Thailand bomb attacks

[hhinner]

Was it a landslide in isaan?

[STEVE G]

Apparently, between the 1st and the 13th of August, there were 63 bombings in Southern Thailand in total. The authorities have had no problem on blaming the 50 of these that happened in the border provinces on the Southern insurgency but for some reason they don't want to do the same thing for the other 13 that happened further away.

[buksida]

Hua Hin scrambles to revive tourism after bombings over weekend
Hua Hin Municipality plans to revive tourist industry in the seaside resort city and install additional CCTVs to cover all public areas.

Hua Hin mayor Nopphorn Wutthikul said that recent bombing incidents in Hua Hin area resulted in a drop in the number of tourists during the long weekend while 32 percent of hotel bookings was canceled.

Hua Hin Municipality has coordinated with local tourism entrepreneurs to scramble to make tourists and the public understand that the situation has returned to normal now and tourist industry in the resort city is yet to be revived.

Hua Hin Municipality will seek a budget for the installing of a hundred more CCTVs since 60 were already installed at 20 spots and intersections. Local residents were also asked to install CCTVs of their own at home.

http://thainews.prd.go.th/website_en/ne ... 8150010009

[HHADFan]

http://thediplomat.com/2016/08/whos-beh ... mb-blasts/

"If Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Coordinate (BRN-C) or one of its controlled insurgent offshoots is responsible, as many analysts suspect, it would mark a significant escalation in the Muslim group’s 12-year struggle for cultural and religious rights vis-a-vis the Thai state. Until now, BRN-C attacks have been almost exclusively confined to their remote home geography, namely the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, with less frequent assaults on adjacent Songkhla province, and have mainly avoided Western targets that could internationalize their local complaints and grievances."

Edit to add: Author is Shawn Crispin.

[hhfarang]

"Thailand's southern region hit by fresh blasts"

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/t ... 52034.html

"Thai police: A single person behind wave of attacks"

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/t ... 10218.html

[buksida]

Its all hinting South ...

Malay Separatists Shift their Campaign North
Between the afternoon of 11 August and the morning of 12 August, multiple locations in seven provinces were targeted by relatively small improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and incendiary devices remotely detonated by the alarm clock function of mobile phones. Four people were killed and 25 wounded including 11 foreign tourists.

On the Andaman sea coast the provinces of Trang, Krabi, Phuket and Pha-nga were affected while on the Gulf of Thailand coast Surat Thani, Nakhorn Sri Thammarat and Prachuab Khirikhan were affected. The popular resort town of Hua Hin in Prachuab was worst hit with four bombs killing two and injuring over 20. No group has claimed responsibility.

Obviously not intended to cause mass casualties, the blasts bore none of the hallmarks of international jihadist terrorism; but they did strike two distinct domestic targets. The immediate casualty was Thailand’s tourism industry which is heavily dependent on southern beach resorts and which is the only real growth sector in an otherwise stagnant economy. The other was the credibility of the military junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) headed by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha which since seizing power in a 2014 coup has made a point of touting its success in restoring law and order.

Predictably in the Thai political and cultural context, the bombings triggered a firestorm of speculation and impassioned conspiracy theories in both social and mainstream media. Equally predictably, within 24 hours the military government had begun to impose its own preferred spin on a police investigation that had hardly begun, by pointing a finger at the political opposition.

Read more: http://accessasiaconsulting.com/thailan ... ign-north/

[hhinner]

^^ This article states that the mobile phones used as bomb triggers only used the alarm clock function. So, if true, no SIMs and no phone calls to trace. Probably untraceable second hand phones as well.

[nil]

Half of Poonsuk was blocked off with tape barriers this morning with police looking about.

[charlesh]

Buksi - I don't have f/book or twit and don't want too. I do however read and have an understanding that indicates that the official news media seems to be somewhat at odds with facts on a number of occasions.

Currently in Oz there is an inquest into the storm of the Lindt cafe in Sydney (finally by police experts) which has raised some questions as to tactics, reporting and the court evidence of survivors and what was reported during the siege!

The standard of journalism has slipped and there seem to be a preponderance of PC articles aided and abetted no doubt by a manipulated editorial board.

I do my reading and watching of the news with a grain of salt.

Perhaps have a look at the Murdoch legacy.

PS what's wrong with Gonzo and Kermit?

[STEVE G]

Regime drops ball on 'return to peace'
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... n-to-peace

"With all its advanced technology and power, the government should have made the effort to avert the threat that the country could fall into a terrorism and separatist trap. That is far more important than trying to suppress harmless people who have opposing views."

[Nothappyjan]

Just been downtown and was encouraged to see Police with sniffer dogs doing the rounds and importantly doing it properly.
They were going into shops and letting the dogs have a good sniff around.
Unfortunately the local police still seem to think that riding their motor bikes around the block a few times is the way to go. What they are doing is an almost waste of time and effort.

[Big Boy]

Police today said they have obtained video footages showing clearly three bomb suspects responsible for bomb attacks at Hua Hin.

The three were seen leaving the clock tower in front of Hua Hin temple before the bomb went off, and also at Talad Chatchai market.

They walked around to place bombs in Hua Hin town, the police said.

Police added that these perpetrators are still hiding in the country, and the police are closing in on them.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/hua-hi ... hown-cctv/

[Nereus]

A bit more detail than Big Boys post, with photos.
..................................................................
Hua Hin bomb suspects caught on CCTV

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/1 ... ht-on-cctv

HUA HIN — Police investigating the deadly bomb blasts in Hua Hin on Aug 11-12 have released CCTV pictures of three men suspected of being involved in the incidents.

The three men were suspected of carrying and placing the four bombs used in the attacks at the John 56 beer bar late on Aug 11 and the town’s clock tower on the morning of Aug 12, as well as an unexploded fire bomb at Chat Chai market found on Aug 14.

They were captured by CCTV cameras walking in the bar beer neighbourhood, Chat Chai market, the railway station and at other key spots in Hua Hin between 6am and 7.30am on Aug 10.

The men each wore a cap and carried a bag. One of them often looked at CCTV cameras. Theั stopped at different places for five to 10 minutes and walked on, according to police.

Investigators are treating the unidentified men as persons of interest and are trying to track them down for questioning. Some media reports said the men had fled to the southern border provinces, but police could not confirm this.

[hhfarang]

"Thai police name 1 man as suspect in tourist spot bombings


A suspected member of the Revolutionary Front for Democracy Party, right, shakes hands with a relative as he arrives at the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. Over a dozen suspects are planned to be charged with running an illegal secret organization which violates the military junta’s ban on political gatherings. (Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press)
By Associated Press August 19 at 8:50 AM

BANGKOK — Thai police said Friday they have obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect in last week’s bombing and arson attacks that killed four people and wounded several dozen.

Police spokesman Col. Krisana Pattanacharoen announced that a warrant had been issued for a man named Ahama Lengha because there was clear evidence linking him to the Aug. 11 and 12 attacks in seven provinces. Ahama is suspected of planting a bomb in Phuket’s Patong beach district, a popular tourist destination.

The government has not specified who it believes was behind the attacks but analysts strongly suspect they were carried out by southern separatists.

Ahama comes from Narathiwat, one of Thailand’s three southernmost provinces where a Muslim separatist insurgency that flared in 2004 has taken more than 6,000 lives.

A second reported arrest has not been confirmed.

Also on Friday, the army turned over to police custody 15 people they accused of forming a gang with the apparent intention of stirring up political trouble. The military had detained those suspects and two others in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, and media reports based on police leaks had speculated of links between the detainees and the attacks.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and the national police chief on Friday denied the two cases were linked.

The main charge against the 15 and two other people not currently in custody is being members of a criminal organization. The police’s Crime Suppression Division said they were members of previously unknown group called the Revolutionary Front for Democracy Party, with the objective of opposing the military government. Police said they had been tracking the group since last December. Nine of the 17 are 60 years or older, including two who are 71."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as ... story.html

[buksida]

15 detainees to be charged with recent bombings

At least 15 people detained for suspected involvement in last week's bombings and arson in seven provinces will be taken to the police Crime Suppression Division and charged on Friday, the National Council for Peace and Order said.

Col Burin Thongpraphai, the NCPO legal chief-of-staff, said the military had earlier arrested and detained 17 suspects at the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok. Two had been freed.

Arrest warrants were now being sought in the military court for all 17 suspects. The two released earlier would be tracked down, he said.

Arrest warrants would ensure they could be held for a longer period pending further investigation.

Col Burin said he passed on more information about the bombings to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) in Bangkok on Thursday.

Last Thursday and Friday, bomb and arsonist attacks struck six southern provinces - Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phangnga, Phuket, Surat Thani and Trang - and bombs also exploded in the nearby central province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, south of Bangkok.

All are major tourist destinations. The attacks were launched at the start of a long holiday weekend in honour of Her Majesty the Queen's birthday.

Four people were killed and 35 others injured, including foreign tourists.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... ings-fires