Thai police warn of Bangkok bomb attacks, but don’t reveal who the plotters are

Police in Thailand on Tuesday said they have increased security at major landmarks in the capital Bangkok, at airports and in surrounding provinces following reports of bomb plots just weeks after deadly attacks rocked the country’s south.

An armed group was plotting car bomb attacks in a province near Bangkok, Thailand’s national security head said.

“The deputy prime minister instructed security agencies closely track and monitor anything unusual including things used to prepare bombs and cars,” Thawip Netniyom, chief of Thailand’s National Security Council, said.

“Why target Bangkok? They probably want to make an impact,” he said, without giving details on which groups could be behind the plot.

Popular tourist destination Thailand has seen a series of bomb attacks in the country’s south over the past few weeks, including a wave of bombs in tourist towns between August 11-12 that killed four Thai people and injured dozens, including foreigners.

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Police have linked the attacks to Muslim separatists operating in Thailand’s far south.

Security chief Thawip said he was not sure whether the planned car bombs and the August attacks were related.

Thailand’s tourism industry, which accounts for 10 per cent of gross domestic product, has weathered more than a decade of unrest including two military coups and the recent bombings.

Britain’s Foreign Office advised travellers to exercise caution following the August bombings.

“You should exercise caution, particularly in public places ... Further incidents are possible in these and other areas of Thailand,” the Foreign Office said.

Why target Bangkok? They probably want to make an impact

In August 2015, a bomb ripped through a religious shrine in Bangkok killing 20 people, most of them tourists from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and a family from Malaysia. But the attack failed to dent tourist arrivals to any discernable degree.

Two ethnic Uygur Muslims from China are on trial in Thailand accused of carrying out the attack.

Analysts and diplomats suspected the attack was linked to Uygur sympathisers angered by Thailand’s deportation of more than 100 Uygurs to China the previous month.

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Bangkok is currently playing host to a regional meeting attended by some world and business leaders.

Police said they were on high alert.

On Sunday the palace said Thailand’s 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch, was in an unstable condition after receiving haemodialysis treatment.

The statement was the second health bulletin this month after the palace said on October 1 that the king was recovering after a respiratory infection.

The king has been treated for various ailments over the past year at Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital - his home for much of the past year - and was last seen in public on January 11, when he spent several hours visiting his palace in the Thai capital.

Anxiety over the king’s health and an eventual succession has formed the backdrop to more than a decade of bitter political divide in Thailand.

“I have ordered all police under my supervision in the area around Bangkok to monitor news, investigate and gather intelligence on groups who could come in and cause trouble,” said Police Lieutenant General Charnthep Sesawet, acting chief of Provincial Police Region 1, which oversees areas around the capital.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as:

Security boosted in Bangkok after bomb plot threats