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 auto 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.
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No one has claimed responsibility for the coordinated attack, but police have ruled out worldwide terrorism and said the campaign was an act of “local sabotage”.
The explosions all occurred south of Bangkok and several of the blasts – including one on Patong beach in the tourist resort of Phuket – appeared created to hit the tourism industry.
Other blasts hit the island of Phuket, a resort town in Phang Nga province, and Surat Thani, the jumping off point for travellers heading to the white sandy beaches of Gulf of Thailand islands such as Koh Samui.
“They are more local sabotage on certain locations and provinces”, Deputy Police Spokesman Maj. He did not elaborate, but said that police were gathering evidence and that worldwide militant groups were not believed to be behind the attacks.
Foreign governments, including the United States, issued warnings urging travelers to use caution and avoid affected areas.
In a televised address late Friday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the attacks “struck at the hearts of all Thai people”.
The pensioner, who did not want to give his full name, said: “The bombs went off not far from were I live”.
Police have said they do not suspect worldwide Islamic militant groups were behind the attacks, instead calling them “acts of sabotage” likely carried out by a local group with a political agenda. But he said the bombings followed “a similar pattern used in the southern parts of the country” a reference to a low-level insurgency in the country’s Islamic south that has ground on for more than a decade and killed more than 5,000 people. Nearly all the violence has been in the three southernmost provinces, which Trang does not directly abut.
The latest blasts came just days before the first anniversary of the last major attack on tourists in Thailand – an August 17 bomb that killed 20 people, mostly ethnic Chinese tourists at a crowded Hindu shrine in Bangkok.
A string of bomb attacks hit popular tourist towns across Thailand, leaving four dead and many wounded, with authorities Friday ruling out terrorism despite suspicions insurgents in the kingdom’s deep south are responsible.
Reports on the websites of the Thai Rath newspaper and other media said the bombs were hidden in planters Thursday night on a busy street with open-front bars. One Thai woman was killed and about 20 people were wounded, 11 of them foreigners. – Reuters picBANGKOK, Aug 13 ― Thai security forces are seeking Malaysia’s cooperation in investigating a series of bombings in several southern provinces between Thursday and yesterday, killing four people and injuring 35.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry said that three German citizens were among the injured.
Small bombings have been common during periods of political tension in Thailand, but the recent attacks were unusual as they were aimed at tourists, a mainstay of the economy and not often caught up in the violence.
The bombs in each attack were packed with ball bearings, similar to bombs used in past political disputes and the explosion at Erawan Shrine on August 17 previous year, the officers stated.
Pongsapat said the perpetrators are believed to belong to the same networks and were still inside the country. One exploded on Phuket city’s popular Patong beach, injuring one person.
Jon, 67, moved from Tile Hill to the seaside resort of Hua Hin when he retired.
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One witness of the attack, named Pongpol, said he was on his way to the market when he heard a loud blast and saw everybody running.
