Thai junta again claims August blasts not insurgency

By CS Thana

BANGKOK (AA) - Thailand’s junta has sought to underline that two people arrested on suspicion of involvement in a series of bombings which killed four people are not linked to the country's southern insurgency.

The statement appears to again contradict earlier comments by police which said the suspects originated from three Muslim provinces wracked by drive by shootings and bombings and had been involved in the insurgency.

“Deputy-prime minister-cum-defense minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters at the government's annual review Thursday that two people had been arrested and warrants issued for six more in connection with the blasts.

"But we maintain that even if these people originate from the three southern provinces, they are not part of the insurgency or this is an extension of the insurgency."

Bomb attacks across Thailand Aug. 11-12 left four people dead and more than 20 wounded.

he attacks targeted security officials and tourist sites.

Immediately after the bombings, the military government claimed that they were not the work of terrorists or insurgents but related to local politics.

Police, however, have also linked two of the suspects to last year's bombing of a shopping mall on the tourist resort of Samui, which they have also suggested was insurgency related.