Four bombs exploded in the resort town of Hua Hin, while several blasts hit the island of Phuket, a top tourist destination, all within 24 hours.
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The violence occurred just ahead of the first anniversary of the August 17 bombing of Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine, which left 20 dead and injured more than 120 others.
Earlier Thursday, another bomb blew up in the southern province of Trang – full of handsome beaches and tourist island – killing one person and injuring six, according to Thai press reports.
Hua Hin police chief General Sithichai Srisopacharoenrath said four bombs had been hidden inside potted plants and set off by remote control, about half an hour apart. The second blast caused the death and injuries. He said a mobile phone, believed to have been used to detonate one bomb, had been recovered.
No group has claimed responsibility for the wave of bombings, which sent shudders through the tourism industry, one of the few bright spots in Thailand’s sluggish economy.
Attackers using firebombs and homemade explosives struck a series of popular resort cities and beach towns across Thailand in some of the worst violence to hit the country since a military coup two years ago.
Junta chief-cum Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Friday that the people behind the bombings meant to “create chaos and confusion” because “the situation and the economy were being stabilized” after the “successful August 7 referendum, however other junta leaders have been more reserved about linking the violence to the political opposition”.
“Why has it happened now when the country is improving …” Who doesn’t want to see Thailand getting better? “Which group? Go find out for me”.
Police General Pongsapat Pongcharoen, a deputy national police chief, said police were gathering evidence and that worldwide militant groups were not believed to be behind the attacks.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but police have ruled out worldwide terrorism and said the campaign was an act of “local sabotage”.
Thai police have confirmed that two more bombs have gone off in another city, killing one person, in the latest in a string of blasts to hit the country, including two in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin that killed one and wounded almost 20 more people – half of them foreigners.
The United States, Britain, Australia and several other countries issued travel warnings to their nationals.
“We hope to have good news [about suspects and motives] over the next one or two days”, he said. The wounded foreigners included nationals of Austria, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
(AP Photo/Jerry Harmer). Investigators work at the scene of an explosion in the resort town of Hua Hin, 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. One exploded on Phuket city’s popular Patong beach, injuring one person. Although their targets have overwhelmingly been confined to Thailand’s three southernmost provinces, the militants have apparently carried out isolated attacks elsewhere – detonating, for example, a vehicle bomb in the underground parking lot of a mall on the tourist island of Koh Samui in April 2015 that wounded at least seven people. Pol. Lt Chaiyot Tisawong, an officer in Hua Hin, said 10 of the injured were foreigners.
He looked outside and saw people running.
Thaksin’s ouster set off sometimes bloody battles for power between his supporters and opponents, who include the military.
Last Sunday, Thai voters approved a referendum on a new constitution that is supposed to lead to an election next year.
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Friday’s blast took place on the birthday of Thailand’s Queen Sirikit. The ruling junta has declared that defending the monarchy is its priority, especially as there is concern about the process to succeed the ailing 88-year-old king, who is the world’s longest reigning monarch. Critics say it is undemocratic and is fashioned to keep the military in control for at least five more years even if a free election is held.
