Bomb Explodes on Bangkok Bus

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in THE NATION:

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Four Injured in Explosion on Bangkok Bus

 

Four passengers were injured when a homemade bomb exploded on a Bangkok bus Saturday night.

 

The time bomb detonated by a clock exploded on Bus No 95 at 10:40 am.

 

The bus was having about 20 passengers and had left Happy Land Market heading to Bang Khen when the explosion occurred when it was in front of Bang Toey Temple near Soi Navamin 101..

 

Three passengers were slightly injured were discharged from the Lard Prao Hospital after treatments.

 

The other passenger suffered cuts on the left leg and suffered back injury from the blast impact. He was discharged after treatment.

 

The bus driver, Jittakorn Prajonghat, 32, told police that the bomb might be planted by four teenagers who got off the bus just a stop before the bomb exploded.

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This doesn't sound like some sort of a warped teenage prank to me. It is much too serious an incident for it to be just a prank. I can't even begin to imagine Thai teenagers knowing how to construct a bomb in the first place, let alone actually planting one. I hope it is an isolated incident that will not be repeated, but it certainly smacks of terrorist activity to me. There is plenty of terrorist activity in the extreme south of Thailand, but to my knowledge this is the first incident to occur in Bangkok. I hope it is also the last.

 

At least nobody was seriously injured. They were lucky this time.

 

[Guest Steve1903]

Is there no speculation from the authorities as to who - or which group - they think may be responsible. Certainly could end up bad news for Thailand as a whole if this kind of crap is repeated in the Capital or other tourist areas.

[Gaybutton]

Is there no speculation from the authorities as to who - or which group - they think may be responsible

 

I have not seen any such speculation published just yet, but this only just happened. Even if the bus driver is correct in his belief that it was some teenagers that did it, somebody had to have taught them how to make a time bomb and somebody had to have supplied them with the materials to make it with. Then, whether it was those teens or not, somebody carried through with it,

 

I am guessing that the authorities are going to put their best experts on to trying to track down whoever did this. All Thailand would need would be for people, including tourists, to be afraid to come to Bangkok.

 

Thailand depends a great deal on tourism. Something like this has the potential to spell disaster for tourism, especially if there is a repeat performance.

 

I hope nothing like this occurs in Pattaya, but I can visualize it happening sooner or later. Places like Walking Street, Pattayaland, and Sunee Plaza are vulnerable to attack. But, then again, just about anywhere is vulnerable to attack.

[Guest Hedda]

The bus explosion is puzzling and potentially very troubling. The police are trying to suggest that it's a local grudge issue, but that's the kind of thing they used to say when the bombing started in the South.

 

Whatever the story here, there's an even more troubling development is Saraburi, which is not that far east of Bangkok.

 

According to the Nation internet news, the police raided a house and arrested five men in Saraburi today, for allegedly possessing 5,000 bomb fuses , with enough materials for making 15,000 more. That's scary news.

[Gaybutton]

If there is any kind of a bright side to this, at least the Thai police were able to hunt down and capture those people. It's the ones they haven't found that worry me. I can't help but believe that for all the ones they do find, there are more yet to be found. I hope they find them in time.