An explosion tore through a major intersection in the center of Bangkok, Thailand's capital city, near a Hindu shrine popular with tourists.
Multiple news reports put the number of people killed at more than a dozen. Scores of people were wounded.
Maj. Gen. Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, a spokesman for Thailand's ruling junta, said there were at least two bombs and that at least one had detonated, according to The Associated Press.
Michael Sullivan, reporting from the Thai city of Chiang Rai, filed this report for NPR's Newscast unit:
"The explosion occurred at the Rajprasong intersection in the central business district, in front of the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist destination. Police say several foreigners are among the injured. It's the same place where anti-government demonstrations were forcibly dispersed by the Thai military in 2010. TV footage from the scene show fires burning and the charred remains of several motorcycles. It's not known what caused the explosion."The Thai capital has been fairly peaceful since the military deposed a democratically elected government in May 2014 after months of sometimes violent protest against that government. The military pledged to return the country to democratic rule by later this year or early 2016."
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blast.
According to a Reuters witness, a soldier told onlookers to step back from the blast site as officials swept the area for other bombs.
The BBC's Jonathan Head was at the scene in Bangkok, and tells Newscast:
"We're surrounded by bodies, pieces of bodies. There's blood everywhere. It's an appalling scene. Looking at the crater, there's the smell of smoke and burning and just everywhere around us, bodies and injured people. It's a dreadful, dreadful scene and nobody can really understand what it is or why it's happened. It's completely unexpected. It's a very, very popular shrine, the people around the shrine were hit by the full force of the blast."
Thai Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told Reuters that "the perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourism district."
Meanwhile, there is speculation that the attack may be politically driven. Reuters reports that Thailand "has been riven for a decade by an intense and sometimes violent struggle for power between political factions in Bangkok."
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