Thai shrine bombing suspect arrest

Thai police said on Saturday that they had arrested a man "likely involved" with the August 17 bomb attack at Bangkok's Erawan shrine, which killed 20 people and wounded scores more.

The man was arrested in Nong Jok on the outskirts of the capital, according to Khaosod Newspaper. It is the first arrest in connection with the bombing.

"We have detained one person," deputy national police chief General Chaktip Chaijinda told reporters in a live televised broadcast.

"We have found components of bomb-making materials in his apartment and I am confident that he is likely involved with the bomb attack," he said.

He added that a number of passports had been found in the man's room.

National police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said that the arrested suspect was a foreigner. However, he refused to confirm reports by some local media outlets that the man was Turkish.

Police had been searching for a main suspect who was seen in a security camera video wearing a yellow T-shirt and walking away from the popular open-air Hindu shrine in downtown Bangkok after having left his backpack on a bench.

Chaktip said it was not yet clarified whether the suspect arrested on Saturday is the same person seen in the security camera images.

An arrest warrant for the man had described him as "foreign."

tj/ng (AFP, dpa, AP)