Man dies after attack on Tesco store in Thailand

A Thai man, suspected of firing shots at a Tesco supermarket in Bangkok, the second attack this week on the British-owned chain, blew himself up with a hand grenade after being cornered by police.

Police traced the suspect to a house in the Thai capital after finding a mobile phone outside the Tesco Lotus superstore that had been attacked, but he refused to surrender and a seven-hour siege ensued. He ignored pleas from police and his family to give himself up and detonated a grenade that killed him, Thailand's police chief, Sant Sarutanont, said.

No one was injured in the shooting at the Tesco store in eastern Bangkok at about 3am (2000 GMT Thursday). A security guard said a gunman fired several shots before fleeing in a car. On Wednesday, an anti-tank missile was fired at another branch of Tesco Lotus but hit a nearby office.

Police declined to speculate on the motive for the attacks, but they are thought to be connected to a turf war over contracts to run security and motorcycle taxi services for Tesco. There has been a series of attacks since July when Tesco Lotus ended a lucrative contract with one local company and switched to another.

Tesco Lotus declined to comment on yesterday's attack, but the company has denied reports that the campaign would affect its plans for investment in the region.