Daughter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin will be nominated as new leader in parliamentary vote

BANGKOK (AP) — Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, will be nominated as the country’s new prime minister in a parliamentary vote, her party and its coalition partners said Thursday.

The move follows the removal of former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin by court order over an ethical violation a day earlier.

Leaders of the 11 party-coalition led by Paetongtarn’s populist Pheu Thai party declared their support for her at a news conference on Thursday after the party’s secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong announced her candidacy.

Paetongtarn thanked her party and the coalition partners for their support, adding she is ready to move the country forward.

“I have confidence in Pheu Thai. I have confidence in all government coalition parties to bring our country out of the economic crisis,” she said. Pheu Thai had campaigned heavily on improving Thailand's sluggish economy.

If Paetongtarn is approved in Parliament’s vote, which is scheduled for Friday, she will become Thailand’s second female prime minister and the country’s third leader from the Shinawatra family, after her father and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. Thaksin was the first Thai politician ever to win an overall majority of seats. His residual popularity and influence is a factor behind the political support for Paetongtarn.

Srettha was ousted on Wednesday after less than a year in office. The Constitutional Court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach over his appointment of a Cabinet member who was jailed in connection with an alleged bribery attempt.

Paetongtarn said she respects Srettha and thinks what happened to him was unfortunate, but added: “The country must move on.”

It was the second major ruling in a week to shake Thai politics. The same court last week dissolved the progressive and main opposition Move Forward party, which won last year’s general election but was blocked from power, saying it violated the constitution by proposing an amendment to a law against defaming the country’s royal family. The party has already regrouped as the People’s Party.

Pheu Thai finished second in last year's election but was given a chance to form a government after the winners, the reformist Move Forward party, was blocked from taking power by the previous Senate, a military-appointed body.

Move Forward was then excluded from the coalition by Pheu Thai, which went on to join hands with parties affiliated with the previous military-backed government that ousted it in a coup. The move drew criticism from some of its supporters but party officials say it was necessary to break the deadlock and start reconciliation after decades of deep political divisions.

The former senators were given special power to veto a prime ministerial candidate by the constitution adopted in 2017 under a military government. However, that power expired when their term ended in May. New members of the Senate, selected in a convoluted process last month, do not retain the veto.

A candidate now needs just a majority from the lower house, or at least 247 votes. The House of Representatives now has 493 sitting members after six were banned from politics as a result of Move Forward's dissolution. Another lawmaker in the Bhumjaithai party, which finished third in the election and is Pheu Thai's major partner in the coalition, is suspended awaiting a court ruling.

While Pheu Thai’s coalition endorsed Paetongtarn's candidacy, some of its key partners have reiterated that they would not support a proposal to amend the royal defamation law which became a key issue during last year’s election. Pheu Thai discussed the issue during the election campaign but has spoken about it less since taking power.

The law, also known as Article 112 in Thailand’s criminal codes, protects the monarchy from criticism with penalties of up to 15 years in jail per offense. Critics say the law is often wielded as a tool to quash political dissent.

The People's Party, the new home for lawmakers of the dissolved Move Forward party, said Thursday it will not vote to approve a candidate from Pheu Thai on Friday. Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said the party will continue its duty as an opposition.

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, smiles during press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, third form left, and coalition partners shake hand during press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, third form left, and coalition partners smiles during press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, eight form left, and coalition partners shake hand during press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, center and coalition partners gesture during press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, right, and coalition partners guture during press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, wave before press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, smiles before press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, right, and coalition partners arrive for a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, right, and coalition partners smile during a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, talks to reporters during a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

FILE - Leader of Pheu Thai Party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, reacts after her speech at the party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Members of Pheu Thai party hold a meeting at Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Members of Pheu Thai party meet at Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

NEW YORK (AP) — In what appears to be a sophisticated, remote attack, pagers used by hundreds of members of Hezbollah exploded almost simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria Tuesday, killing at least nine people — including an 8-year-old girl — and wounding thousands more.

A U.S. official said Israel briefed the U.S. on the operation — in which small amounts of explosive secreted in the pagers were detonated — on Tuesday after it was concluded. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information publicly.

The Iran-backed militant group blamed Israel for the deadly explosions, which targeted an extraordinary breadth of people and showed signs of being a long-planned operation. Details on how the attack was executed are largely uncertain and investigators have not immediately said how the pagers were detonated. The Israeli military has declined to comment.

Here's what we know so far.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying they could be used by Israel to track the group's movements. As a result, the organization uses pagers to communicate.

A Hezbollah official told The Associated Press the exploded devices were from a new brand the group had not used before. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press, did not identify the brand name or supplier.

Nicholas Reese, adjunct instructor at the Center for Global Affairs in New York University’s School of Professional Studies, explains smart phones carry a higher risk for intercepted communications in contrast to the more simple technology of pagers.

This type of attack will also force Hezbollah to change their communication strategies, said Reese, who previously worked as an intelligence officer, adding that survivors of Tuesday's explosions are likely to throw away "not just their pagers, but their phones, and leaving their tablets or any other electronic devices.”

Even with a U.S. official confirming it was a planned operation by Israel, multiple theories have emerged Tuesday around how the attack might have been carried out. Several experts who spoke with The Associated Press explained how the explosions were most likely the result of supply-chain interference.

Very small explosive devices may have been built into the pagers prior to their delivery to Hezbollah, and then all remotely triggered simultaneously, possibly with a radio signal.

By the time of the attack, “the battery was probably half-explosive and half-actual battery," said Carlos Perez, director of security intelligence at TrustedSec.

A former British Army bomb disposal officer explained that an explosive device has five main components: A container, a battery, a triggering device, a detonator and an explosive charge.

“A pager has three of those already,” explained the ex-officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he now works as a consultant with clients on the Middle East. “You would only need to add the detonator and the charge.”

After security camera footage appeared on social media Tuesday purporting to show one of the pagers explode on a man’s hip in a Lebanese market, two munitions experts offered opinions that corroborate the U.S. official's statement that the blast appeared to be the result of a tiny explosive device.

“Looking at the video, the size of the detonation is similar to that caused by an electric detonator alone or one that incorporates an extremely small, high-explosive charge,” said Sean Moorhouse, a former British Army officer and explosive ordinance disposal expert.

This signals involvement of a state actor, Moorhouse said. He adds that Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, is the most obvious suspect to have the resources to carry out such an attack.

N.R. Jenzen-Jones, an expert in military arms who is director of the Australian-based Armament Research Services, notes that Israel had been accused of carrying out similar operations in the past. Last year, AP reported that Iran accused Israel of trying to sabotage its ballistic missile program through faulty foreign parts that could explode, damaging or destroying the weapons before they could be used.

It would take a long time to plan an attack of this scale. The exact specifics are still unknown, but experts who spoke with the AP shared estimates ranging anywhere between several months to two years.

The sophistication of the attack suggests that the culprit has been collecting intelligence for a long time, Reese explained. An attack of this caliber requires building the relationships needed to gain physical access to the pagers before they were sold; developing the technology that would be embedded in the devices; and developing sources who can confirm that the targets were carrying the pagers.

And it's likely the compromised pagers seemed normal to their users for some time before the attack. Elijah J. Magnier, a Brussels-based veteran and a senior political risk analyst with over 37 years experience in the region, said he has had conversations with members of Hezbollah and survivors of Tuesday's pager attack. He said the pagers were procured more than six months ago.

“The pagers functioned perfectly for six months," Magnier said. What triggered the explosion, he said, appeared to be an error message sent to all the devices.

Based on his conversations with Hezbollah members, Magnier also said that many pagers didn’t go off, allowing the group to inspect them. They came to the conclusion that between 3 to 5 grams of a highly explosive material were concealed or embedded in the circuitry, he said.

Jenzen-Jones also adds that “such a large-scale operation also raises questions of targeting" — stressing the number of causalities and enormous impact reported so far.jenzen

“How can the party initiating the explosive be sure that a target’s child, for example, is not playing with the pager at the time it functions?” he said.

Hezbollah issued a statement confirming at least two members were killed in the bombings. One of them was the son of a Hezbollah member in parliament, according to the Hezbollah official who spoke anonymously. The group later issued announcements that six other members were killed Tuesday, though it did not specify how.

“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians,” Hezbollah said, adding that Israel will “for sure get its just punishment.”

People donate blood for those who were injured by their exploded handheld pagers, at a Red Cross center, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)