Thai police release sketch of suspect in bomb 'network'

Bangkok

 Thai police on Wednesday released a sketch of a young, bespectacled man suspected of carrying out a Bangkok shrine bombing that killed 20 people, and announced he was part of a network.

 The sketch and comments by the police chief indicating the bomber was not a "lone wolf" assailant were the strongest leads revealed to the public so far over Monday's attack on the Hindu shrine.

 Yet police said they still did not know if he was Thai or foreign and, with no-one yet claiming responsibility, mystery remained over the motive behind the bombing which has no precedent in the kingdom.

 "It's a network," national police chief General Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters.

 "We believe there must be people helping him, Thai people."

 But he revealed no other details.

 The attack occurred on Monday evening as worshippers and tourists crowded into the Erawan shrine in the Thai capital's commercial heart, shredding bodies and incinerating motorcycles.

 At least 11 foreigners were killed, with visitors from Britain, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia among the victims.

 Another 68 people remained in hospital, 12 of whom were in critical conditions.

 The police sketch of the suspected bomber showed him with black-rimmed glasses, a full head of dark hair and a light complexion.

 Police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said his features were gleaned partly from security footage taken of him at the shrine in the minutes before the attack.

 That footage, released to the public on Tuesday, shows him wearing a bright yellow T-shirt and dark shorts, walking into the shrine with a backpack.

 He casually places the backpack underneath a bench and then slowly walks away clutching a blue plastic bag while looking at what appears to be a smartphone.

 Police said he escaped on a motorcycle taxi, a common form of transport in Bangkok, and that the bomb exploded several minutes later.

 Prawut, the police spokesman, said other security footage of the suspect was also used to create the sketch, however this was still not enough to determine his nationality.

 "(He) might be Thai or foreign," Prawut said.

 Police have offered a one million baht ($28,000) reward for information that leads to the arrest of the main suspect.