Sejeal

The mysterious stickers found posted along a road in Klong Toey district definitely belonged to the group of suspects believed to have been involved in the Feb 14 bombings on Sukhumvit Soi 71, police said.

Fifty-two stickers bearing the word "Sejeal" were found on electricity posts and signboards on Duang Phithak Road.

"We are sure they belong to the suspects, as we found about 300 similar stickers at a house rented by Leila Rohani, one of the five suspects," said a police source inside the Metropolitan Police's investigation team in charge of the case.

The officer said authorities believed the stickers were used to mark the escape route for the gang members after they completed a bombing mission, rather than marking potential target sites.

Examinations of the stickers found a phrase which indicated that they were produced outside the country, said the source. Investigators were trying to locate the sticker's manufacturer.

"It is very likely that Ms Leila brought them in from a foreign country," he said.

Deputy police chief Pansiri Prapawat said police were looking into the significance of the "Sejeal" stickers.

(The word "Sejeal" is Arabic, and the stickers may refer to a passage (Sura 105) in the Koran. It relates a miracle when birds from heaven dropped "sejeal stones" at a Yemen army on elephants, attempting to kill Muhammad. The rain of stones frightened the animals and saved the prophet's life. Palestinian guerrillas have referred to their rockets and mortars used to attack Israel as "sejeal stones". )

Meanwhile, the Israeli embassy in Bangkok has asked police to increase security following last week's bomb blasts, which investigators believe could be part of a plot targeting senior Israeli diplomats and VIPs.

Police sources said staff from the embassy wrote to Bangkok police chief Pol Lt Gen Winai Thongsong to seek the deployment of more officers at the embassy on Sukhumvit Soi 21 and at the residences of Israeli officials until security concerns ease.

The Metropolitan Police have stepped up patrols at the embassy in addition to the security provided by the Special Branch Police which recently has been reinforced by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Pol Maj Gen Sarote Promcharoen, deputy Bangkok police chief, said patrol, tourist and special branch police have also been sent to tourist destinations and foreigners' places of worship.

Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa said yesterday that the Israeli ambassador to Bangkok and Israeli diplomats met him on Monday and told him the arrests of the bombing suspects after the three blasts in Bangkok on Feb 14 had alerted them to terrorists switching their targets from Israeli tourists to VIPs.

Gen Yutthasak said the Israeli diplomats praised police for quickly identifying five suspects and said Israel had been unaware of the suspects' movements.

The diplomats also thanked the police for their swift coordination that led to the arrest of a suspect in Malaysia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said the ministry had sent a request to Malaysia for the extradition of bombing suspect Masoud Sedaghtzadeh.

Sunai Julapongsathorn, chair of the House committee on foreign affairs, said he met the Iranian ambassador to Bangkok and the envoy promised Iran would cooperate with the government.

He quoted the ambassador as saying he appreciated the efforts of the government for protecting relations with Iran after the blasts.


More @ http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crimes/280930/police-tie-blast-suspects-to-sejeal-stickers