A bomb went off in central Bangkok near the home of Prem Tinsulanonda, an adviser to Thailand’s King Bhumibol and a former prime minister. Three cars were trashed and a British tourist was slightly injured. The bomb had been positioned under a bench near a security guard booth but by ‘coincidence’ all three security guards were inside the house.

Some are blaming ‘terrorists,’ and unpopular Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is blaming his opposition for the attack. As the first reports come out, it’s extremely hard to say, it could be any of this, or other things.

It does have the look of a strike at the King, which to do, is anathema in Thailand, and if that is true, the more likely suspect would be someone aligned with Thaksin, who’s often at odds with the King. On the other hand, there is an angry opposition, and when this particular opposition, the middle-class opposition, gets angry, there has been violence in the past – as in 1992. Each side is blaming the other. The bombing has the effect of increasing the tension at this tense time and if there are more of them, could serve as a catalyst for more unrest and a likely crackdown as protests escalate and the prime minister and maybe the military grow restless.

Meanwhile, the embassies have been warning of having intelligence signalling a terrorist attack. Islamofascists have long considered Bangkok a target and something of this kind could happen at any time. Note that it happened in a tourist district, a favored target for Islamofascists, particularly operating in Southeast Asia.

The guards were suspiciously away from their posts at the time the bomb blew. One question might be whether those guys might know more than they are letting on. At this point, no one is sure who did it, but given the political crisis, it comes at an extremely nervous time.

The first story is here.