At least two men have been held for questioning over the blasts in Hua Hin — a resort town struck by four of the bombs — and a third was arrested over a suspected arson attack in a separate province, police said.
“Our investigation is progressing. We know who was behind it,” deputy national police spokesman Piyapan Pingmuang told AFP, declining to provide further details on those detained or a possible motive.
A junta spokesman confirmed that multiple people have been questioned but stressed it was too early to identify them as suspects.
“It’s just asking questions. They will not be treated as suspects unless the questioning procedure is done and any of them are found to have violated laws. Then legal action may be taken against them,” said Colonel Winthai Suvaree.
At least 11 bombs and a series of suspected arson attacks ripped across seven southern provinces on Thursday and Friday, killing four locals and wounding more than 30 people, including European tourists visiting the country’s famed beaches.
Some analysts suggest it was the work of Muslim rebels waging a long-running insurgency in Thailand’s southern tip.
Thai officials have dismissed that theory and also ruled out international terrorist groups, insisting the bombings were acts of “local sabotage”.
“We believe (the bombers) are still in Thailand,” deputy national police chief Ponsapat Pongcharoen told reporters Sunday.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, which are seen as an affront to a military government that prides itself on having brought some stability to Thailand since its 2014 coup.
The kingdom has been battered by decade of political unrest, driven by a bitter power struggle between the military-allied elite and populist forces loyal to the ousted democratically elected government.
Rounds of mass protests organised by the rival camps have been marred by streetside gunfights and grenade attacks. But the violence has not matched the coordinated nature of the latest bombings or targeted tourist towns.
Analysts say the style of last week’s bombs mirrors those used by separatists in the far south.
If the rebels are to blame, it would mark an unprecedented escalation of a 12-year revolt so far confined largely to the border region.
The attacks came only days after the junta won a referendum vote on a controversial new charter it drafted.
The document, which critics say will make Thailand less democratic, was approved by 61 percent of voters
but turndown in the north and northeast — strongholds of the ousted government — and in the three insurgency-torn southern province
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