Bomb suspect wounded in Bangkok blasts

A man believed to be Iranian was seriously wounded when a device he was carrying exploded in one of a series of blasts in the Thai capital Bangkok on Tuesday, police said.

The city has been on edge since the United States last month warned of a threat of a terrorist strike on tourist areas in Bangkok, but it was unclear whether there was any link.

Investigators rushed to the scene after three men were seen fleeing from a house where a blast was reported in a mainly residential area in the east of Bangkok.

One of the men hurled an explosive device at a taxi which refused to stop and later tried to throw another device at police, triggering a blast on the side of a busy road which tore off his legs, authorities said.

"An Iranian ID was found with the injured man so it's likely that he's an Iranian national," Major General Pisit Pisuthisak, deputy commander of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, told AFP by telephone from the scene.

"A police forensics team is examining the house," he added.

Police later used a high pressure water cannon to defuse another device found inside the building.

The injured man was admitted to a Bangkok hospital where he was receiving emergency treatment. Police were searching for the two other suspects, whose motives were unclear.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged people not to "jump to conclusions" about the circumstances behind the blasts.

"Let the police and intelligence agencies do their work and the public must not panic because the perpetrator was detained," she told reporters during a visit to northeast Thailand.

Last month Thai police later charged a Lebanese suspected of planning an attack in Bangkok after they raided a property and discovered chemicals that could be used to make a bomb.

Thai authorities alleged the Lebanese man had links to Hezbollah, an Iranian- and Syrian-backed Muslim Shiite group that is blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Washington.

Tuesday's blasts came a day after bombs targeted India and Georgia, injuring a diplomat and her driver in New Delhi, in attacks where Iran was accused of masterminding.

The recent safety scares are another blow to the kingdom's tourist-friendly image, which was badly dented last year by devastating flooding across much of the country, as well as rounds of rival political protests in recent years.

In recent weeks security has been stepped up around possible targets in Bangkok, including the Israeli embassy and the Khao San Road backpacker district.
Britain on Tuesday warned its citizens to be on guard following the latest incident.

"You should remain vigilant, follow the advice of Thai authorities and monitor the local news," the British embassy said in a message on its website.

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