It was not clear who was behind the attacks Thursday and Friday, but police ruled out links to global terrorism or a low-level insurgency in the country’s Islamic south.
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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 two bombs on Friday morning that detonated at the clock tower were placed behind a large portrait of the king and queen.
He said most of the southern provinces, which were affected with the violent incidents, had backed the draft constitution during Sunday’s referendum. “It is just local sabotage that is restricted to limited areas and provinces”, national police deputy spokesman Piyapan Pingmuang said in Bangkok.
‘I have seen three coups, fighting on the streets, blasts and bombs, shootings at temples, I have seen a lot of violence in Thailand and political turmoil so nothing surprises me, ‘ he said on Friday.
A major holiday weekend turned sombre after a series of closely timed bombings rocked Thailand’s restive southern provinces, killing four people and injuring at least 35 others, including foreign tourists.
There were 2 more explosions in the same town on Friday morning that killed 1 other person.
Thailand’s economy has slumped since the military coup in 2014, but tourism has remained one of the few bright spots with visitor numbers increasing.
In a televised address on Friday, Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the attacks “struck at the hearts of all Thai people”.
“Hua Hin has never had a problem like this”, Nai Amporn, the owner of a beachside restaurant, told AFP.
No group has said it carried out the attacks but suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist separatists.
General Sithichai Srisopacharoenrath, the superintendent of police in Hua Hin, said the bombs were hidden inside potted plants and set off by remote control, half an hour apart.
Thailand’s reputation as a holidaymaker’s paradise has in recent years weathered bus and boat accidents, bouts of political unrest and high-profile crimes against foreigners. Local police confirmed that a Thai was killed and 20 people, including foreign tourists, have been injured after two bombs exploded in Hua Hin just before midnight, Thai media reported.
The violence occurred just ahead of the anniversary of the August 17, 2015, bombing of Bangkok’s popular Erawan Shrine, which left 20 dead and injured more than 120.
Many shops in the city center closed afterward and normally bustling streets were empty.
Claims of responsibility have been scant throughout Thailand’s long history of political violence, including the troubles in the south and mysterious grenade blasts during tussles between rival political camps.
They were also far from the “deep south” where a Muslim insurgency has raged for decades, and where bombs targeting ordinary people are tragically common.
Supporters of Shinawatra and her brother Thaksin, who also served as prime minister until 2006 when the military ousted him, have been arrested and questioned by the army during its rule, causing outcries from civil rights groups.
Nearly 6 500 people – mostly civilians – have died since 2004 in the area, which is plagued by near-daily shootings and roadside bombs.
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A week ago, Thailand approved a new constitution aiming to strengthen the military’s influence in the government via a referendum vote of its citizens.
