Detained suspect refuses to cooperate in Bangkok blast probe: Thai police

A foreign suspect arrested in connection with the deadly Aug. 17 Bangkok bombing refused to cooperate in interrogation, Thai police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thawornsiri said on Sunday. The alleged Turkish man was not answering questions on whether he played any role in the blast at Erawan Shrine in downtown Bangkok, which killed at least 20 people and injured more than 120 others, as well as a subsequent bombing at the Sathorn pier which caused no casualties, Prawut was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying. The suspect, who was arrested by police and soldiers at a rented apartment house on Bangkok's eastern outskirts, was in custody at the 11th Infantry Regiment headquarters, according to Prawut. The real name and nationality of the suspect were yet to be known, the spokesman said, adding the Turkish embassy in Bangkok denied that he was a Turkish national. The suspect was holding a Turkish passport with the name Adem Karadag. However, the passport was believed to be fake, Prawut said, and several embassies had offered to help with confirmation of the suspect's nationality. A large number of bomb-making materials and equipment were seized in his apartment, which were similar to those used in the two bombing attacks. The materials had been sent to the Office of Police Forensic Science and the man's belongings collected for further examination, according to Prawut. Evidences shown the 28-year-old suspect was planning more attacks, he added. Other people, some of them Thais, were believed to be involved in the bombings, Prawut said. It remained unclear whether the arrested suspect was the same one whose sketch had been released, deputy national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda said earlier. Security camera footage showed a male, who was wearing a yellow T-shirt and glasses, left a backpack inside the Erawan Shrine shortly before the explosion. A portrait of the unknown "white Arab" was sketched and copied for postings at Bangkok streets and on the Internet. It was preliminarily determined that the arrested suspect was linked to the two attacks and he belonged to the same group behind the bombings, Prawut said on Saturday.