Camera shows suspects driving to plant Samui bomb

[webfact]

Camera shows suspects driving to plant bomb
THE NATION

POLICE RULE OUT LINK WITH INSURGENTS IN DEEP SOUTH AS HUNT FOR SUSPECTS WIDENS

BANGKOK: -- POLICE have obtained footage from a surveillance camera showing a number of alleged suspects in Friday night's bombing on Koh Samui travelling to the island in two vehicles on Friday morning before the explosion at the Central Festival shopping mall, a police inspector-general said yesterday.

Pol Lt-General Suchart Theerasawas, the lead investigator handling the mall explosion case, said the suspects were seen driving to Don Sak pier in Surat Thani province before boarding the 8am ferry to the island.

He said the assailants had most likely surveyed the underground car park in which the bomb went off. They entered the car park at around 10.24am and assembled the bomb in a silver-coloured four-door Mazda pickup truck.

A number of Central Festival shopping mall staff based in the South were detained for questioning, Suchart said, adding that the police are checking |the vehicle for evidence such as fingerprints and DNA on the truck's steering wheel.

A source said the explosion at Central Festival was possibly carried out by four accomplices who carried out the task in a coordinated manner.

A Central Festival employee responsible for closing the doors of the mall is also missing and being sought for questioning by the police, the source added.

A security source based in Yala identified a group of insurgents led by Ubaidillah Rommuhli as the most likely suspects. This group of insurgents robbed the Mazda truck in question in Yaha district on March 31. Ubaidillah is also believed to be behind a car bomb near Lee Garden in Songkhla's Hat Yai district last year.

The source said Ubaidillah was likely assisted by two groups of insurgents |led by Abas Jeh-ali and Koseng Jehmah, who carried out similar bomb attacks using vehicles robbed from different places. They are likely responsible for a |car bomb in Yala's Betong district |in October last year. Security officials |are tracking two suspected insur-|gents, Seri Wae-ma and Roslan Bai-ma, who are based in Pattani's Nong Chik district.

Army commander-in-chief General Udomdej Sitabutr repeated the initial analysis of security authorities who said that both incidents along with smaller fires at a convenience store in Phang Nga were politically motivated. They had nothing to do with insurgent violence spilling over from the deep South.

He said the fire at the Cooperative could have been caused by a number of disgruntled staff whose employment contracts had recently terminated.

"The motives behind the incidents were unlikely linked to the insurgency - but could have had something to do with politics or personal grudges," he said.

Police are also looking for a man who was seen entering the Cooperative depot compound in the province. They believe he was involved in a large fire that gutted the main building in the compound around the same time as the mall explosion.

Asked if the attacks were carried out by people unhappy with Article 44 of the interim charter, Udomdej, who is also a deputy defence minister, said if some people misunderstand the article and are unhappy with it, the military would consider that as a motive.

A list has been released of 12 vehicles, all pick-up trucks, that could possibly be used as vehicular bombs in the future that were robbed from the owners in ambushes orchestrated by insurgents.

National police chief Pol-General Somyot Poompanmuang said a man who posted a Facebook message about "him playing hard tonight at Surat Thani" before the mall explosion and the Cooperative fire was in military custody and would possibly be handed over to police if there is solid evidence against him.

Worachai Hema, a former Pheu Thai Party MP, said the man, Narin Amnongbua, whose Facebook name is M Redshirt, could have been a wannabe or merely seeking notoriety.

"Don't link him [as a red-shirt] to the incidents yet," Worachai said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Camera-shows-suspects-driving-to-plant-bomb-30257963.html


-- The Nation 2015-04-13

[BSJ]

Intriguing! The clown the army has in custody need a thorough interrogation to see what he knows....if anything!

[canuckamuck]

A security source based in Yala identified a group of insurgents led by Ubaidillah Rommuhli as the most likely suspects. This group of insurgents robbed the Mazda truck in question in Yaha district on March 31. Ubaidillah is also believed to be behind a car bomb near Lee Garden in Songkhla's Hat Yai district last year.

The source said Ubaidillah was likely assisted by two groups of insurgents |led by Abas Jeh-ali and Koseng Jehmah, who carried out similar bomb attacks using vehicles robbed from different places. They are likely responsible for a |car bomb in Yala's Betong district |in October last year. Security officials |are tracking two suspected insur-|gents, Seri Wae-ma and Roslan Bai-ma, who are based in Pattani's Nong Chik district.

"The motives behind the incidents were unlikely linked to the insurgency - but could have had something to do with politics or personal grudges," he said.

My head reels.

So this was all done by insurgent groups working together, and has nothing to do with insurgency?

Are the insurgents freelancing now?

When Is an insurgency not considered political?

[noitom]

Thais haven't got a clue on this tourist mall bombing. Thais have no security and no investigative apparatus. It should be soon that the international community looks at this whole Thai terrorism and 6,000 plus killing in the Thai south.

[chooka]

Yep very good images of the suspects, should have this wrapped up by smoko.

[bkkjames]

Notice the truck in the photo is driving the wrong way in the parking lot.

Clear indication that it was an outsider not familiar with how to enter the mall...or it was a regular person who uses the mall frequently and figured that the signs and directions are for ordinary people.

[noikrit]

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Notice the truck in the photo is driving the wrong way in the parking lot.

Clear indication that it was an outsider not familiar with how to enter the mall...or it was a regular person who uses the mall frequently and figured that the signs and directions are for ordinary people.

Or they where Thai ......

[Bluespunk]

"They had nothing to do with insurgent violence spilling over from the deep South."

This conclusion comes after several paragraphs listing terrorists linked to this attack and their actions in the south?

Erm......ok, I'm now confused?

[kotsak]

Clear as mud..

[geriatrickid]

As expected, the investigators and security officials are all over the map and there is absolutely no organization or command structure in place.

Perhaps it is a good thing, otherwise we would have only the Bangkok version, which is to call this a political event.

Look, I know that it is expedient to blame the UDD aka Redshirts and all that, but it doesn't make sense. The people named are no friends of the UDD nor Thaksin for that matter. The muslim south has historically disliked Thaksin because he was viewed as a nationalist and not open to negotiating the release of the sultanate territory, so it is doubtful they have kissed, and made up.

The local police suggest that a labour conflict may have been involved, and, it is plausible. We have seen disgruntled workers set fire to their employer's buildings before. I also have to wonder if it was a muslim insurgency related event as it hasn't been their style to set off bombs outside of the southern conflict zone. Phuket with its large muslim population would provide an ideal spot to inflict a terrorist attack, and yet we have never seen one.

All I know is that this investigation is disorganized, has too many leaks , is tainted by political interference from Bangkok and may very well serve up some patsies to satisfy political expediency.

[simple1]

A bit dated, but an analysis of Thai counter terror stategy and tactics at URL below.

http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/461-480/tandi475.html

Considering the large number of Oz tourists visiting Thailand, I did think it was odd that Oz discontinued counter terror training for Thai security agencies after the Coup. Not sure if US has also stopped training for Thai counter terror agencies.

[Anthony5]

A security source based in Yala identified a group of insurgents led by Ubaidillah Rommuhli as the most likely suspects. This group of insurgents robbed the Mazda truck in question in Yaha district on March 31. Ubaidillah is also believed to be behind a car bomb near Lee Garden in Songkhla's Hat Yai district last year.

The source said Ubaidillah was likely assisted by two groups of insurgents |led by Abas Jeh-ali and Koseng Jehmah, who carried out similar bomb attacks using vehicles robbed from different places. They are likely responsible for a |car bomb in Yala's Betong district |in October last year. Security officials |are tracking two suspected insur-|gents, Seri Wae-ma and Roslan Bai-ma, who are based in Pattani's Nong Chik district.

"The motives behind the incidents were unlikely linked to the insurgency

I must be missing something

[soalbundy]

Notice the truck in the photo is driving the wrong way in the parking lot.

Clear indication that it was an outsider not familiar with how to enter the mall...or it was a regular person who uses the mall frequently and figured that the signs and directions are for ordinary people.

I would class that as simply confirmation that the driver was Thai

[maidee]

did any of you ever understood why those terrorists always stayed in the deep south

and did not move more north ???

hitting some major tourist destinations like in bali would set a ...........

just put one of them soldiers in front of every house / hut in the south ... see how many teachers and other innocents would be killed

at least, the army would be used for something more usefull than ...

[JOC]

Oh you posters of little faith!!

This case is the the hands the same very competent police, who handled the Koh Tao case.

What can possibly go wrong..............................

[JOC]

did any of you ever understood why those terrorists always stayed in the deep south

and did not move more north ???

hitting some major tourist destinations like in bali would set a ...........

just put one of them soldiers in front of every house / hut in the south ... see how many teachers and other innocents would be killed

at least, the army would be used for something more usefull than ...

Shared a bottle with Chalerm??

[otherstuff1957]

Well, there are a lot of Muslim names connected with this incident! It looks like the April 10 connection may be coincidence after all.

Edited April 13, 2015 by otherstuff1957

[pedro01]

Notice the truck in the photo is driving the wrong way in the parking lot.

Clear indication that it was an outsider not familiar with how to enter the mall...or it was a regular person who uses the mall frequently and figured that the signs and directions are for ordinary people.

Or someone that wants to stay off the CCTV cams facing him if he goes in the right way

[ChrisY1]

"They had nothing to do with insurgent violence spilling over from the deep South."

This conclusion comes after several paragraphs listing terrorists linked to this attack and their actions in the south?

Erm......ok, I'm now confused?

You're confused......how confused do you think the RTP are......????..the mind boggles as usual!!

[sungod]

A security source based in Yala identified a group of insurgents led by Ubaidillah Rommuhli as the most likely suspects. This group of insurgents robbed the Mazda truck in question in Yaha district on March 31. Ubaidillah is also believed to be behind a car bomb near Lee Garden in Songkhla's Hat Yai district last year.

The source said Ubaidillah was likely assisted by two groups of insurgents |led by Abas Jeh-ali and Koseng Jehmah, who carried out similar bomb attacks using vehicles robbed from different places. They are likely responsible for a |car bomb in Yala's Betong district |in October last year. Security officials |are tracking two suspected insur-|gents, Seri Wae-ma and Roslan Bai-ma, who are based in Pattani's Nong Chik district.

"The motives behind the incidents were unlikely linked to the insurgency - but could have had something to do with politics or personal grudges," he said.

My head reels.

So this was all done by insurgent groups working together, and has nothing to do with insurgency?

Are the insurgents freelancing now?

When Is an insurgency not considered political?

Yes, the insurgents have been freelancing in business conflicts for sometime now, helps finance their operations. There are a number of incidents (Lee Grdens for example) that seem to be insurgency, but are in fact business.

[robblok]

A security source based in Yala identified a group of insurgents led by Ubaidillah Rommuhli as the most likely suspects. This group of insurgents robbed the Mazda truck in question in Yaha district on March 31. Ubaidillah is also believed to be behind a car bomb near Lee Garden in Songkhla's Hat Yai district last year.

The source said Ubaidillah was likely assisted by two groups of insurgents |led by Abas Jeh-ali and Koseng Jehmah, who carried out similar bomb attacks using vehicles robbed from different places. They are likely responsible for a |car bomb in Yala's Betong district |in October last year. Security officials |are tracking two suspected insur-|gents, Seri Wae-ma and Roslan Bai-ma, who are based in Pattani's Nong Chik district.

"The motives behind the incidents were unlikely linked to the insurgency

I must be missing something

Me too.. i like it to be the redshirts.. but I don't see the connection, if these guys are involved then it is highly likely they are not redshirts and just "normal" terrorists. Scary then that they have started to bomb tourist area's

[JOC]

A security source based in Yala identified a group of insurgents led by Ubaidillah Rommuhli as the most likely suspects. This group of insurgents robbed the Mazda truck in question in Yaha district on March 31. Ubaidillah is also believed to be behind a car bomb near Lee Garden in Songkhla's Hat Yai district last year.

The source said Ubaidillah was likely assisted by two groups of insurgents |led by Abas Jeh-ali and Koseng Jehmah, who carried out similar bomb attacks using vehicles robbed from different places. They are likely responsible for a |car bomb in Yala's Betong district |in October last year. Security officials |are tracking two suspected insur-|gents, Seri Wae-ma and Roslan Bai-ma, who are based in Pattani's Nong Chik district.

"The motives behind the incidents were unlikely linked to the insurgency

I must be missing something

Me too.. i like it to be the redshirts.. but I don't see the connection, if these guys are involved then it is highly likely they are not redshirts and just "normal" terrorists. Scary then that they have started to bomb tourist area's

Me too.. i like it to be the redshirts.

What a sad man you are!!

[rapom]

Notice the truck in the photo is driving the wrong way in the parking lot.

Clear indication that it was an outsider not familiar with how to enter the mall...or it was a regular person who uses the mall frequently and figured that the signs and directions are for ordinary people.

Or could be they used the exit lane, to avoid having there faces on video at the entrance.

[phutoie2]

No, No, it was Thaksin driving the pickup, I tell you, djjamie and ramitindallas will be along soon to explain it all.

[chooka]

A bit dated, but an analysis of Thai counter terror stategy and tactics at URL below.

http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/461-480/tandi475.html

Considering the large number of Oz tourists visiting Thailand, I did think it was odd that Oz discontinued counter terror training for Thai security agencies after the Coup. Not sure if US has also stopped training for Thai counter terror agencies.

I believe they stopped the training because Australia doesn't recognise the Junta as a legitimate government. I guess when the country is handed back to the people things will resume. Thais are no longer studying at ADFA (Aust Defence Force Academy) either since the coup. Police exchange program is also on hold. Edited April 13, 2015 by chooka

[Jim walker]

Thats the cunning yellow shirts at it again trying to put the blame on others never accepting responsibility for anything, it was announced last week that the military new who did the bombing and were keeping a close eye on the perpetrators

[JOC]

No, No, it was Thaksin driving the pickup, I tell you, djjamie and ramitindallas will be along soon to explain it all.

Spot on!!

And the get away vehicle parked around the corner:

[robblok]

Me too.. i like it to be the redshirts.. but I don't see the connection, if these guys are involved then it is highly likely they are not redshirts and just "normal" terrorists. Scary then that they have started to bomb tourist area's

Me too.. i like it to be the redshirts.

What a sad man you are!!

If there is somoene sad its you.. personal attacks.. never any facts. Go play around.

My reasons for wanting it to be redshirts is easy.. if it is the insurgents the problems are far worse then when it are the redshirts. The redshirts might be bad but the insurgents are worse.. them extending to tourist area's would be a disaster. So it being redshirts would be preferable.

[German Viking]

For sure the communication between police and the militaryis very bad. We don't living in the middle age anymore, almost every adult in Thailand having a smart phone. Sending pics to minimum all RTP and military posts of the wanted persons and cars, this is done in minutes. I would extent is to all mobile phones in Thailand use the greedyness of the ppl, these bastards would never feel save again. Text: "Wanted dead or alive, Reward 1,000,000 THB".

[Rimmer]

Off topic grammar police post and reply removed: