At 6.45 p.m. today, less than 300 meters from my apartment at Victory Monument in Bangkok, a bomb exploded killing one and injuring four. The incident occurred at the bus station next to Center One mall. I arrived around 7.30 p.m. and the scene was a mixture of shock and curiosity. An area around 400 square meters had been cordoned off and there was a large crowd of military personnel, policemen, forensics experts, and onlookers. White circles were being sprayed on the ground around fragments of the bomb and people within the sealed off section were examining the area.

A bus shelter had been damaged and there was shattered glass covering a small area of the ground. The BTS Skytrain was still passing by overhead. It’s unclear who detonated the bomb and why, but there have been six other confirmed explosions in Bangkok at Seacon Square, Sapahan Kwai, Sukhumvit soi 62, Tesco Lotus in Prachachuen, a police box in Nonthaiburi, and Klong Toei.

Unfortunately I could not understand the press briefing, but there seemed to be a fair amount of confusion as to the exact circumstances surrounding the bombings. Some New Year’s Eve celebrations are going to be cancelled. Every day I walk by the spot where the bomb exploded.

There are rumours floating in that the people behind the bombings are pro-Thaksin supporters. There is nothing to suggest the work of Islamic militants at this moment.

The general vibe is that people should be taking care tonight. Bangkok is on high alert. What a way to bring in the new year.

Addendum: The governor of Bangkok has allegedly cancelled all public New Year’s Eve celebrations. A friend of mine called the owner of Club Astra in RCA and by all accounts the party is on there, although at this point in time it looks likely that my celebration will be spent at Gnarly Kitty’s house. On the plus side, this means I may get a glimpse of her hi-so life, and I may even meet her dad.

I assume the question on the tip of everybody’s tongue is: “Whodunnit?” At this point speculation is rife as to whether it was insurgents from the south, people acting on the current political climate, or a different group altogether. Whoever it was, they must have had a fairly high level of organisation; what that adds up to is mere guesswork. There have been simultaneous bombings in the south already this year (in August, 23 banks were bombed in Yala) but the violence has yet to migrate to Kraung Thep.

The number of people injured at Victory Monument seems be fluctuating between four and 20. Bangkok Pundit is blogging live with regular updates.

Addendum two: We just got word that another bomb exploded at Central World on the stroke of midnight. Other bombs have been found but have not exploded. Thai TV is covering it now. At least one foreigner has been injured; allegedly she has lost a leg.

Word is now coming in that three foreigners have been hurt. There were two bombs that exploded (and one that did not) around the Central World area.

Addendum three: There has been another bomb? Thai TV is producing some unreal images at the moment. A lot of blood has been shed tonight. We still don’t know who has done this.

Addendum four: One more bomb has just gone off at Buddy Bar on Khaosan Road. I think the point has been made now, but what is the message? The most recent bombs have been detonated by mobile phones, which is what has happened in the south of Thailand on numerous occasions. A number of the other bombs today were detonated by a watch or some similar device. Are the pieces falling into place? There’s still no official statement.

Happy New Year: Enough with the bombings already. New Year’s Eve 2006 has been successfully rattled. The bomb on Khaosan Road has apparently been demoted to another “suspicious package”. I spent most of tonight at Kitty’s house watching TV, being forced to sit through an episode of the OC, and drinking gin. It wasn’t quite what I’d had planned, but this is Bangkok after all, and it was fun to spend time with a few friends. The best thing that happened tonight was that I got to meet James Bond (Gnarly Kitty’s dad) in real life. I also just got hold of UFC 66 so will be watching that before I go to sleep. It’s 3 a.m. and I just arrived home. I was planning to go and meet Bill at Astra but it’s closed, along with everywhere else, because of the bombings. Whoever did this has made quite an impression.

Techno’ tags: Terrorism in Thailand, Bangkok bombings

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