Bombings Were Not Terror Attacks - Thai DPM

By Jamaluddin Muhammad BANGKOK, Feb 16 (Bernama) -– The three bombing incidents in Bangkok Tuesday were not terror attacks, Deputy Prime Minister Chumpol Silapaarcha said Wednesday. "I was informed by the tourism police that they came here to make bombs but it does not mean terror attacks happen in Thailand," he told reporters here Wednesday. Chumpol is also tourism and sports minister. Three bombs rocked Bangkok Tuesday, including an incident where an Iranian lost his legs when a bomb he hurled at a police patrol car, ricocheted and struck him at Sukhumvit 71 Road here. The first bomb blast occurred at the suspect's rented house near the Sukhumvit 71 Road while in the second incident, he threw a bomb at a taxi near the road for refusing to take him. He hurled the third bomb when a police patrol car intercepted him at the road. Four Thais were also injured in the incidents. Police later found some home-made bombs at the suspect's rented house. So far, the police have detained two Iranian suspects, including the injured suspect, while two others are at large, including a man who has left the country. All of them, including a woman, had rented the house. On the tourism front, Chumpol said the incidents had no impact on the country's tourism at the moment. This was because the tourists had booked for their current visits, said the deputy prime minister, cautioning however, that it might affect future tourism bookings. Thai Tourism Authority Governor Suraphon Svetasreni said the authorities might have to review the issuance of Visa On Arrival for tourists as security issues needed to be taken into consideration. He said 150,000 Iranians had visited Thailand in the last 11 months and they normally came during low season period between May and July, and stayed here for more than a week. "They like to go shopping and patronise amusement parks," he said. -- BERNAMA