Bangkok Bombs: Israelis Say Design Similar to India, Georgia Bombs

Feb. 15, 2012 — -- An Israeli diplomat claims that the bombs allegedly made by suspects in a failed Thailand attack are very similar to the magnetic bombs used in attacks on Israeli targets in India and Georgia.

A third Iranian has been arrested in connection with Tuesday's Bangkok blasts, which took the roof off a rented residence and wounded five people, including one of the suspects.

Israeli ambassador Itzhak Shoham told the Associated Press that Thai police found and defused two "sticky" bombs that could be attached magnetically to vehicles.

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"They are similar to the ones used in [India] and [Georgia]," claimed Shoham. "From that we can assume that there is the same network of terror." Shoham said that the arrest of Iranians after the blast "leaves not too much room to assume who was behind it."

A Thai police official told the Guardian that the suspects were more likely to be assassins than terrorists, interested in a specific target rather than causing mass casualties in a crowd. "The exact target we are still investigating, but we are looking at who the target was rather than a general terrorist attack," the official said.

An apparently accidental explosion tore through a house in downtown Bangkok that had been rented by Iranians at 2 p.m. local time Tuesday. Three men ran from the scene, including one who was wounded and attempted to hail a cab. When the driver refused to take him, he allegedly threw an explosive at the car, injuring the driver. He allegedly blew his own legs off when he threw a second device at police who had come to arrest him. The device bounced back in his direction and exploded. The suspect, Saied Moradi, is in Thai custody.

Another Iranian national believed connected to the house was arrested at the Bangkok airport en route to Malaysia, while a second was arrested in Malaysia prior to boarding a flight to Tehran. According to police, additional explosive material was found in the damaged house when it was searched.

The Bangkok Post named the three suspects as Moradi, 28, Mohummad Hazaei, 42, and Masoud Sedaghat Zadeh, 31. A fourth suspect, a 32-year-old woman named Rohani Leila, is still being sought. She is believed to have rented the house.

On Monday, an assailant on a motorcycle placed a magnetic bomb on a car belonging to the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, India. The explosion wounded the wife of a diplomat, her driver, and two nearby motorists. A similar device attached to an Israeli car inTbilisi, Georgia failed to explode and was defused. Indian police said Wednesday they had recovered a motorcycle that may have been used in the attack.

Since 2007, a number of Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated using "sticky" bombs delivered by motorcyclists. Iran has blamed Israel, the U.K. and the U.S. Both the U.S. and the U.K. have denied any involvement.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the blasts and blamed Israel. According to Iran's Press TV, Ramin Mehmanparast said that Israeli agents are often behind such attacks.

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