A bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok late on Monday, killing at least two people and wounding scores more, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.Body parts were scattered across the street after the bomb went off outside the Erawan Shrine in the downtown Chidlom district of the Thai capital. According to Reuters, local media are reporting that five people have been killed and 20 wounded. Police and ambulances rushed to the scene after the bomb went off around 7pm (1pm BST) local time.The Erawan is an enormously popular shrine to the Hindu god Brahma but is visited by thousands of Buddhist devotees every day.It is located on a main road through Bangkok's commercial hub and is surrounded by three major shopping malls. Bangkok has been relatively peaceful since a military coup ousted a civilian government in May last year after several months of sometime violent political protests against the previous government. However, there has been some tension in recent months as the ruling junta has made clear it may not hold elections until 2017 and wants a constitution that will allow some type of emergency rule to take the place of an elected government.Car bombs are almost unknown in Bangkok, but have been used in southern Thailand, where a Muslim separatist insurgency has been flaring for several years.Bangkok has been relatively peaceful since a military coup ousted a civilian government in May last year after several months of sometime violent political protests against the previous government.However, there has been some tension in recent months as the ruling junta has made clear it may not hold elections until 2017 and wants a constitution that will allow some type of emergency rule to take the place of an elected government.Car bombs are almost unknown in Bangkok, but have been used in southern Thailand, where a Muslim separatist insurgency has been flaring for several years.There are reports that among the casualties could be foreign tourists. Some media reports suggest the death toll has reached 15 but this is unconfirmed.Although we are not yet aware of the details of the attack, no group or individual has claimed it. The bomb exploded at the Ratchaprasong intersection in a busy shopping district and close to the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist attraction, Oliver Smith reports. Several major hotel chains have branches in the vicinity, including Holiday Inn, InterContinental, Renaissance and Grand Hyatt. Lumphini Park, Bangkok’s only bit of green space, lies a few blocks to the south.Four foreigners are among the 27 dead, Reuters reports.The Nation television said 27 had been killed in the blast at the Erawan Hindu shrine, and other media said at least three foreigners were among them. Most of the injured were tourists from China and Taiwan, media said.The target for the bombing could not be more symbolic or easy to attack. The Erewan shrine is one of the most popular in Thailand and sits in the heart of Bangkok’s busiest commercial district amid upmarket tourist and business hotels and shopping malls.It is located next to a five-star hotel and always packed with both locals and tourists – Western and Chinese - seeking blessings and good fortune. The shrine attracts more visitors than any other religious site in the country.That means it could be a target for any group wishing to bring terror and inflict chaos in the heart of the capital of the military-run country. The tally of foreign tourists killed by the blast now stands at seven, Thai police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri has told AFP. According to his office, two Chinese citizens from the mainland, two people from Hong Kong, two Malaysians and a Singaporean have been confirmed among a death toll of 21 at this stage.Five Thais have been confirmed killed, while the other nine victims have not yet been identified. Investigators have been having trouble establishing the exact number of dead as victims were torn apart so horrendously that they are still trying to match body parts.The wounded come from Thailand, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, the Philippines and Singapore.The revised list of nationalities reflects the popularity of the shrine with visitors from across East Asia and particularly Chinese communities. Remember to subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/zundeng?sub_confirmation=1 Watch another video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2fn2ONN_2k and also this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc1weOQRYNc

• published: 18 Aug 2015
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