Thai police: 2 more suspects in terror case
Bangkok police chief says one of two new suspects possibly trained three Iranians on use of explosives
Thai police said Friday they are searching for two more suspects in a botched terror plot against Israeli diplomats that has been blamed on Iran.
One of the two new suspects may have been providing training in the use of explosives to three Iranian men who were detained after the plot was discovered Tuesday in Bangkok, said the city's police commissioner, Lt. Gen. Winai Thongson.
Related stories:
- Report: 4th terror suspect flees to Iran
- Thai official: Iran terrorists targeted Israelis
- Police: Iranian blows off legs in Bangkok blast
Winai said the man was seen on closed circuit camera footage as he left a house that had been used by the Iranians. The roof of the residence was blown off later the same day after a cache of explosives there detonated accidentally, and the same cameras captured each of the three Iranian men leaving the residence shortly afterward.
Winai said the man was 52 years old and of Middle Eastern descent, but that he did not know his nationality.
He said police are also looking for an additional suspect who had rented the destroyed home with an Iranian woman who is now believed to be back in Tehran.
'Iranian suspects partied in Pattaya'
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Post reported that officials at the Thai Immigration Department identified a Thai woman in Pattaya who had escorted the Iranian bomb suspects during their stay in the resort town.
Her account, and photographs taken with her mobile phone, could help authorities confirm whether the suspects know one another, the paper said.
According to the report, the woman, in her twenties, and identified only as Nan, told immigration officers that she had escorted Mohammad Khazaei, who was detained at the airport late on Tuesday.
Iranian suspects with local girls
She said she met the Iranian in Pattaya and that he asked her to escort him during his stay in the city to help him communicate with the locals. She later asked two friends to escort Khazaei's two companions.
They were identified from a group photo on Nan's mobile phone as Saeid Moradi and Masoud Sedaghat Zadeh, the third bomb suspect who was arrested in Malaysia yesterday.
The Bangkok Post further reported that during their stay in Pattaya, from Feb 8 to 13 according to their hotel's registration, the woman and her friends hung out with the three men, had drinks and played snooker together.
The woman was with Khazaei in his room but didn't detect any irregularities except one time when he barred her from approaching a closet in the room. On the last day, Monday, the suspect told her that he would go home. So she phoned a taxi to pick him up.
Thai police say the woman helped them confirm the suspects were together in Pattaya.
Meanwhile, security at Thailand six international airports is being beefed following a terror warning from Israel.
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
