Thai police claim to have identified bombing culprit

By CS Thana

BANGKOK (AA) - Thai police say they have identified the person behind attacks on the country's south in which four people died and over 30 were injured, and are hoping to soon make an arrest.

Deputy Police Chief Pongsapat Pongcharoen told reporters Sunday an investigation had presented "a clear idea" of who is behind the swathe of bombings that rocked towns across the south overnight Thursday and Friday morning.

"These attacks were coordinated, well planned and plotted by one individual," he said.

"We cannot reveal yet who it is, but hope to have good news in the next few days."

On Thursday afternoon one person died when a blast rocked Trang city, 700 kilometers (435 miles) south of the capital, Bangkok.

Subsequent blasts in Hua Hin, 200 kilometers south of Bangkok, killed two people, and an explosion in Surat Thani killed one person.

There were also more minor explosions on the tourist island of Phuket, 650 kilometers south of Bangkok, and in the coastal province of Phang-nga.

All of the areas struck are popular with foreign and local visitors, particularly on Friday, which marked the beginning of a long weekend in honor of the birthday of the queen of Thailand.

The royal family has a palace in Hua Hin, the city the most affected by the bombings, but neither the ageing king or the queen -- both hospitalized in Bangkok -- have visited the area for more than a year.