BANGKOK — While the search continues for the prime suspect in Monday’s terror attack, police have added three more unidentified suspects to their hunt and, three days into the investigation, reached out today for international help.

Three days after the Erawan Shrine bombing killed 20 people in downtown Bangkok, the widening investigation has failed to locate or identify any suspects, prompting police to request aid from Interpol in tracking down members of a network they now say includes no fewer than 10 people.

Deputy national police spokesman Kissana Phathancharoen confirmed to Reuters they formally requested help from Interpol.

Bangkok Shrine Bombing: Those Who Died

That comes as investigators said three more people are being sought who are seen in widely circulated video taken before the attack.

In the pre-attack footage which went public Tuesday, one man wearing a red T-shirt can be seen standing up from a bench upon the arrival of the suspected bomber, wearing a yellow T-shirt, who immediately takes his seat and removes his backpack.

“When the yellow shirt man walked to the shrine, the red shirt man stood up, emptying the bench, and the yellow shirt man sat there instead,” police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri told reporters. “At the same time, the red shirt man and the white shirt man stood in an angle that looks like giving cover to the yellow shirt man as he puts down his backpack. After that, the red shirt man and the white shirt man left the crime scene.”

The bomb went off minutes later killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 150. Many tourists were among the casualties.

Outgoing police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said it could not be determined from the grainy footage whether the two men were Thai or foreign nationals but announced that at least 10 people are thought to be involved in the attack.

“It is a network, no less than 10 people. I believe they have spent months planning and scouting routes before the attack,” he said. “I am confident that Thai people are involved, because based on our investigation, I believe the perpetrators know the escape routes very well.”

That leaves investigators with three men with apparently little more than vague descriptions.

“Right now police are searching for the red shirt man and the white shirt man, to see whether they belong to the same network with the yellow shirt man.”

This afternoon, Prawuth added a third suspect, a woman in a black T-shirt they believe might have been helping the men to plant the bomb.

“These three have suspicious behaviors, he said. “They gave up the seat and shielded the perpetrator as he laid down the backpack.”

No arrest warrant will be issued at this time for the three, however.

“We only suspect them,” he said. “We need to interrogate them.”

Authorities seem less certain that a second attack on Tuesday at a river pier frequented by tourists was carried out by the same attackers.

“The bombs have similarities, but we have to investigate further,” Somyot said.

No one has claimed responsibility for either attack. Thai media has drummed up considerable speculation about the involvement of specific foreign groups, but no evidence has emerged to support those allegations.

“I cannot yet pinpoint which group the perpetrators belong to,” Somyot said. “As for the motive, we have not ruled out any possibility. … However, we are confident the perpetrators are still in Thailand.”

The yellow shirt man seen in the video and a composite sketched released yesterday appeared to many Thais to be a foreigner. Two foreign men have been questioned in the case, seemingly because they had spiky hair similar to that of the suspect.

“I cannot say what nationality the yellow shirt man is, but based on his appearance, he seems like a foreigner, or a half-blood,” Prawuth said at yesterday’s press conference.

But junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters it is too premature to say whether the suspect was a foreigner.

“We have not concluded that. We have not ruled on that,” Gen. Prayuth said when a reporter asked if he thinks the composite sketch looks like a ‘Westerner.’

“Why are you assuming things so quickly?” the general quipped.

The court has issued only one arrest warrant in connection to the Erawan Shrine bombing so far, charging the unnamed yellow shirt man with premeditated murder and other explosives-related charges.

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BANGKOK — The man behind a Facebook post that purportedly predicted the deadly bombing in central Bangkok four days in advance met with police today to affirm his innocence in the plot.

Before answering police questions at Bangkok’s Technology Crime Suppression Division, Pongpob Boonsaree, 36, told reporters this afternoon he wasn’t the original author of the seemingly prescient message and only reposted it out of anxiety.

“I was suspicious from the message, and I felt that something bad may happen, and I was worried about ordinary people, so I reposted the message on my Facebook,” Pongpob said, flanked by officers. “I didn’t expect that something would really happen.”

Pongpob confirmed he is indeed Facebook user “Wichawate Pornpromraksa,” which posted a status on Thursday warning people in Bangkok to beware of an unspecified incident between Friday and Tuesday.

Original message warning of unspecified incident and warning Bangkok residents to be careful.

Four days later, a powerful bomb struck the popular Erawan Shrine in downtown Bangkok, killing 20 people and injuring more than 150. The post then went viral through social media, drawing suspicion he may have had advance knowledge of the blast.

The next day, junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters he had instructed security officers to track down the person behind the prophetic remark for questioning.

“I have already instructed them to summon the posters. Right now we are looking for them,” Prayuth said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters today, Pongpob said he set the message as his status after copying it from another user called “kaler,” who had posted it in a Facebook group that draws political discussions.

Pongpob said he was working at the office when the blast took place.

“If I was really involved in the incident, I would have fled already,” he said. “Why would I surrender myself to police and insist my innocence today?”

Police lead Pongpob away after he addressed the media this afternoon.

He chose to deactivate his Facebook account, he said, because many people reported it to Facebook administrators. He said he is willing to cooperate with the police in any way he can, such as pinpointing where he first saw the message.

Asked about his political persuasion, Pongpob said he self-identifies as a Redshirt, whose members generally support the government toppled by the current military junta in May 2014.

“I admit I am a Redshirt,” Pongpob said. “I support democracy, but I do not oppose the government or NCPO,” referring to the junta’s formal name, the National Council for Peace and Order. “I am very sad about the bombing. I feel sad for all victims. Thailand is also a victim.”

Pongpob added that he hopes authorities won’t use his case to paint the entire Redshirt movement as “rumormongers” because of his action.

He was then taken away by police officers for interrogation. As of the time of this writing, it is unclear whether he would face any criminal charges.

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BANGKOK — Authorities have put a 1 million baht bounty on their chief suspect in Monday’s devastating bomb attack which killed at least 20 people and injured more than 100 in the Thai capital.

Two days after a man was seen leaving a backpack at the Erawan Shrine minutes before the blast, police this afternoon issued a composite sketch of the suspected bomber partly based on an eyewitness and announced the bounty for information leading to his arrest.

Read: Bangkok Shrine Bombing: Those Who Died

“We will ask for an arrest warrant based on the sketch from the CCTV,” police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri said this afternoon. “We will charge him with causing the explosion and premeditated murder.”

Still images of suspected bomber released yesterday.

The sketch of the so-called “yellow-shirt man” shows a curly haired man with indeterminate Asian-European features. He has a thick black shock of hair. National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang speculated he might have been wearing a wig at the time of the attack.

He was seen on security cameras entering the shrine area at the corner of a busy intersection in downtown Bangkok during peak traffic. The blast ripped through worshipers making merit and praying as well as passers-by on the sidewalk.

The suspect departed the area on a motorcycle taxi.

Prawuth sought to dispel several accounts of what happened next that have filtered out through various media.

He denied as untrue Thai media reports the suspect traveled to Soi Silom 9 before hailing a taxi to Don Mueang Airport.

Prawuth said police had interviewed the unidentified motorcycle taxi operator, who contributed details used in the the composite sketch.

“Based on his testimony, it was not Silom as we understood. But we cannot tell you where it was,” Prawuth said. “This witness is also a part of why we can have the sketch, because he saw the suspect at close range.”

That account and another clear photo of the suspect taken from another camera, the spokesman said, is why the quality of the sketch is much higher than seen in the grainy security footage.

Early reports of a Thai suspect likely relate to the person seen in the CCTV video standing up from the bench just before the suspected bomber sits down.

“If you watch the video, you will see that there’s also another person saving the spot for him. It could be a target spotter,” he said.

A reporter asked if reports were true the motorcycle taxi operator said the suspect could not speak Thai.

“I cannot answer that,” he said. “If the suspect disguised himself, wore a wig, put on fake nose and spoke Arabic, we wouldn’t know if he’s really [a foreigner] anyway.”

Is the suspect believed to still be in the kingdom?

“I hope he is,” he replied.

The Erawan Shrine reopened this morning as police announced they’d widened their hunt to include possible Thai co-conspirators in the attack.

In footage of the attack, the man enters the shrine area about 15 minutes before the blast, when it is packed with worshipers and foreign tourists. He immediately slips off his backpack after sitting on a bench and departs seconds later while using a smartphone. He turns left on Ratchadamri Road in the direction of the Erawan Hotel.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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BANGKOK — The site of Monday’s horrific bombing reopened this morning as officials announced they have widened their search from a lone wolf bomber to a “network” they believe behind the deadly attack which killed at least 20 people.

Worshipers returned to pray at the Erawan Shrine, a landmark and tourist attraction, as police continue hunting their chief suspect, a man they are now confident is a foreign national who likely had the help of Thai confederates.

“I am confident that the perpetrator disguised his face with a wig before he committed the crime, to hide his identity, and I believe there is more than one perpetrator. It has to be a network,” Somyot said, adding, “Foreigners couldn’t commit this act alone. There has to be Thai people, who are not Thais at heart, lending assistance to the crime.”

Initial images released yesterday of the suspect.

Full video from security cameras released last night gave a clearer indication of why police consider the “yellow-shirt man” their chief suspect. In the footage, he enters the shrine area about 15 minutes before the blast, when it is packed with worshipers and foreign tourists. He immediately slips off his backpack after sitting on a bench and departs seconds later while using a smartphone. He turns left on Ratchadamri Road toward the Erawan Hotel.

“The investigation has clearly established that the man in the CCTV is the perpetrator,” said outgoing Thai police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang.

Police Gen. Somyot told reporters he also believes the man was not acting alone and likely had the help of Thai nationals.

Police spokesperson Prawuth Thawornsiri also told Reuters, “We are also looking for other suspects in connection with the blast. These types of attacks are not usually planned by one person alone."

Thai authorities have not offered any speculation who was behind the attack at Erawan Shrine.

In the immediate wake of the attack, two international media outlets – The New York Times and The Telegraph – independently reported police sources identifying a Thai woman as an immediate suspect, a suspicion not since publicly acknowledged by officials.

Asked about this possible suspect, a police press liaison contacted by Khaosod English said he was not allowed to discuss it, saying news would come from the police chief.

Two Western men fell under suspicion yesterday — a teacher/model with a following in Thai social media and a traveler trying to fly out of the country. English teacher and model Sunny Burns went to police after people began circulating photos on social media suggesting he was the bomber, while an unidentified foreigner was questioned at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Both men had unruly hair, one of few discernible traits of the suspected bomber seen in CCTV footage.

Authorities have discounted the involvement of separatists from Thailand’s south, citing the unprecedented scale of the attack.

"As for the bomb, it was really severe, and this is unprecedented in the south. It was constructed exclusively for the use of this attack,” said Maj. Gen. Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, a spokesman for the military government.

Army commander Gen. Udomdet Sitabutr echoed Weerachon’s remark.

“I don't think it's connected to the south, because the bomb in Bangkok was very powerful,” he said. “This is not a method used in the south.

The bomb struck the Erawan Shrine, a popular place of worship in the heart of Bangkok’s commercial district, during rush hour on Monday evening. At least 10 foreign tourists were among those killed and wounded in the attack.

Yesterday, less than 24 hours after the Erawan bombing, someone threw an explosive device into a group of people at a riverside pier popular with foreign tourists, but it landed in the water and did not injure anyone.

Police say the bomb was thrown from the overlooking Taksin Bridge by the “same group of perpetrators” with the Erawan Shrine attack, though they have not elaborated on the connection being saying both devices used “TNT.”

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