MOST suspects in the recent fatal attacks in Prachuap Khiri Khan and six southern provinces are Muslims living in the deep southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda said yesterday.

“Some of them are also wanted for security cases that had happened in the deep South.”

However, he still refused to reveal whether the recent attacks were carried out to spread unrest beyond their territory in the southern border provinces.

“At this point, we don’t rule out any possible motive,” he said.

The Muslims in the deep South might have been hired as operatives, he said

Several bombings and arson attacks struck seven provinces beyond the deep South from August 10-12, killing four people and maiming dozens.

Among the wounded victims were tourists from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Australia, as many of violent incidents took place in tourist destinations.

He said the investigation into the attacks has been progressing well and police have already been able to identify their modus operandi and their assembly location.

Although Chakthip’s information shows authorities have likely identified all the suspects in the recent attacks, only one arrest warrant has been issued.

A warrant is out for Ahama Lengha, a resident of Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district, is wanted for allegedly planting a bomb in Phuket’s Patong resort area.

Chakthip believes Ahama and other suspects are hiding somewhere in the deep South. A source had said Ahama fled to Malaysia.

He refused to comment on whether some of the suspects held dual citizenship.

“We can say that all these more than 20 perpetrators of violence must have received training before they staged the sabotage,” he said.

The suspects were field-level members of a group that took orders for specific missions in their assigned provinces.

“If we can catch any of them, we will be able to identify the mastermind,” he said.

When asked about reports that Bt4.5 million had been transferred to the suspects’ bank accounts, he said officials were tracing the suspects’ financial background.

Asked if these suspects belonged to separatist movements Barisan Revolusi Nasional and Patani United Liberation Organisation, he said these groups had always tried to create some conditions to pave the way for negotiations with the Thai government.

“It’s possible that they might have wanted to stage the attacks to show what they are capable of. But at this point, our investigation has not ruled out other possibilities,” he said.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also the deputy prime minister overseeing security affairs, said that although most |suspects hailed from the deep South, the recent bombings and arson attacks were likely not related to |the ongoing unrest in the Muslim region.

Police in Surat Thani have offered Bt100,000 cash rewards for any tip-off about two suspects who planted a bomb inside a shop on August 12.

Security camera footage showed the two men but their faces were hidden by masks.