This story, whether it is precise in its details or not, reads like a parody of a thriller Laurel and Hardy slapstick:
Two suspects have been arrested, and police were in pursuit of three additional suspects. The first arrest is an Iranian man was hospitalized Bangkok when a bomb he was carrying exploded and blew one of his legs off. The second is 42-year-old Mohammad Hazai, who was arrested at the airport just before boarding a flight to Malaysia.
And:
Shortly before the blast that wounded the Iranian bomber there had been an explosion in a house the man was renting in the Ekamai area of central Bangkok, and shortly afterward, another blast on a nearby road.
And, as if the above wasn’t enough:
A taxi driver told Thai television the suspect had thrown a bomb in front of his car when he refused to pick him up near the site of the first blast. He was wounded slightly.
The whole story comes to its climax here:
Government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng said police had then tried to move in and arrest the man but he attempted to throw another bomb at them. It went off before he was able to do so, blowing one of his legs off. A doctor at Chulalongkorn Hospital told reporters the other leg had had to be amputated.
Of course, historic reminiscences are in order too:
In 1994, suspected Islamist militants tried to set off a large truck bomb outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok but they abandoned the bid and fled after the truck was involved in a minor traffic accident as it approached the mission.
Oh well, let’s hope they will continue in the same vein. One day someone in Hollywood will pick up that tune, and then – sky is the limit.
P.S. Have you counted the blown off legs? Frankly, I am somewhat confused…
Update: In spite of Thai officials reporting that the “suspects” were Iranian, CNN has chosen an original way to report the event:
Israel blames Iran for Thai bombings
Go figure…
Cross-posted on SimplyJews
Update from Meryl: Snoopy, CNN is using the AP headline and text. So is Time. Of course, for them, the fact that the bomber was an Iranian isn’t proof enough that Iran was behind the attacks.
Technically, someone else could have hired the Iranian to throw the bombs. Just because the money came from Iran does not mean they were “behind” the attack. Maybe Hezballah set it up without notifying their paymasters.
You may be right at that, Sabba Hillel, but then the idea that Hezbollah or whoever done it have chosen to hire Iranians for the deed makes the whole story even more slapstick-like.