An 'Iranian' man has blown off his legs in Bangkok, Thailand, as fears grow of an international tit-for-tat campaign between Iran and Israel. The man was injured after he threw a bomb at local police. The bomb bounced back off a tree and exploded.
Five people were injured, including the attacker. According to the BBC, the bomber is alive and being treated in a Bangkok hospital.
The reported nationality of the bomber carries additional significance following twin-incidents on Monday in which the Israeli embassies in Georgia and India were targeted.
On Tuesday, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, accused the Iranian regime of orchestrating the attacks in Tbilisi and Delhi.
Tensions between Israel and Iran have been escalating in recent months following rumours of an impending Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
According to a Thai government spokeswoman there was an explosion at the house in the Ekamai region of the city where the bomber was staying shortly before the Bangkok attack.
The bomber, who was spotted with a black bag, reportedly threw a first bomb at a taxi driver who refused to accept him as a passenger.
The police were called and when they moved in to arrest him he threw a second bomb, which rebounded off the tree. The bomber was identified as Sayed Murabi by one Thai TV station, but this has yet to be confirmed.
According to several local news reports, an identification card found in a bag close to the explosion indicated that the man was Iranian.
On Tuesday, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said there were no obvious signs that the targets of the Bangkok attacks were Israeli or Jewish, "but we can't rule out that possibility."
Last month, two Lebanese men, reportedly with ties to Hezbollah men were arrested in Thailand on suspicion of making a bomb.
Monday's attacks on the Israeli embassies followed a warning by the US against possible terrorist activity by the Iranian regime.
The blast in Delhi set a car on fire and injured four people, including a diplomat's wife. In Tbilisi, an embassy driver discovered a bomb on the underside of his car. No one was injured.
Shortly after the attacks in India and Georgia, Netanyahu said: "The elements behind these attacks were Iran and its protege, Hezbollah." He warned that Israel would "act with a strong hand".
Israel's foreign minister echoed Avigdor Lieberman echoed Netanyahu. He said the country knows "how to identify exactly who is responsible for the attack and who carried it out"."
However, Iran's ambassador to Delhi, Mehdi Nabizadeh, reportedly told the Iranian state news agency that "any terrorist attack is condemned and we strongly reject the untrue comments by an Israeli official."