Thailand blames Red Shirts for Bangkok bomb

Anti-government Red Shirt protesters are to blame for a bomb that killed at least three people and injured nine, the Thai government said on Wednesday. They say several bombs were being stored in the Bangkok appartment where the blast originated on Tuesday.

Reuters

The blast shattered windows and damaged nearby buildings. Three bodies and one severed limb were found.

"The bombers were probably making a crude bomb inside room 202 and there was an accident and it exploded prematurely," said Lieutenant Colonel Kamthorn Ucharoen of the police bomb disposal unit. An intelligence official told AFP the bomb is a sign that more violence is expected.

The bomb exploded hours after Thailand extended a state of emergency, which was introduced in April, in Bangkok and three other provinces. There were several minor blasts in Bangkok in July, and police said they defused three bombs within several hours last month.

But Red Shirts accuse authorities of plotting to justify an extension to the emergency laws and to discredit its opponents.

The flat is believed to have been rented by Samai Wongsuwan, who was involved in the Red Shirt protests earlier this year. He was also suspected of involvement in a bomb attack last year, according to police. It is not known whether Wongsuwan was among the dead.