3 blasts rock Thai capital, 5 injured including suspected bomber
merisarkar news service New Delhi, February 14, 2012
A Thai officer trying to defuse a bomb
A suspected Iranian on Tuesday exploded three bombs in Bangkok blowing off both his legs and injuring four others, a day after Israeli embassy cars were targeted in Indian and Georgian capitals for which Israel blamed Tehran.
Syed Morabi, said to be from Iran, was believed to have bombed his rented house in Ekamai area of central Bangkok and then blasted a taxi when the driver refused to accept him.
When the police tried to move in and arrest him, he threw another bomb that came back to him after hitting a tree.
The man lost both his legs in the last blast, government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng told reporters.
Four others were injured in the explosions.
Tuesday's blasts come on top of attacks targeting Israelis in Delhi and Tbilisi, the capital of former Soviet republic of Georgia, on Monday.
While the Georgian attack was thwarted, Tal Yehoshua, the wife of an Israeli diplomat who was herself working in the embassy, was critically injured along with three others when an unidentified motorcyclist stuck a magnetic bomb on her car that exploded within seconds.
5 people, including alleged bomber, injured
Anil Wadhwa, Indian Ambassador to Bangkok, said it was too early to establish a clear linkage between what happened in the Thai capital city today and New Delhi on Monday.
The two other explosions took place around 2 pm local time outside a school on Soi Sukhumvit 71 Road that branches off a busy multi-lane road in the Thai capital far away from foreign embassies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday straightaway blamed Iran and its Lebanese protege Hezbollah for the Delhi attack.
Netanyahu had also said Israel had thwarted similar attacks in recent months in Bangkok and Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday denied Israeli allegations that the country was behind attacks on Israeli targets in India and Georgia.
"We categorically reject the accusations made by the Zionist regime. They are part of a propaganda war," Iranian spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted by local media.
