(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.
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The attacks occurred south of Bangkok and several of the blasts – including one on Loma beach in the tourist town of Phuket, and four in the seaside resort city of Hua Hin – appeared created to hit the tourism industry, which provides vital income to the government.
Police said fire bombs triggered blazes at markets and shops in six places, including Phuket, Trang, Surat Thani Phang Nga and a souvenir shop in the town of Ao Nang, Krabi. For more than a decade Thailand has been divided between populist political forces led by Thaksin, who was toppled in a 2006 coup, and the royalist and military establishment, which accuses him of corruption.
Foreign governments, including Britain’s, issued warnings yesterday urging travellers to use caution and avoid affected areas.
Speaking at a Saturday event to promote Thai products and handicrafts, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha assured reporters that he was dealing with the situation.
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. Thai leaders have said they plan to return the country to democratic rule under a new constitution, but have declined to give a firm timetable for the transition.
In this image made from video, Royal Thai Police Col. Krisana Patanacharoen speaks to reporters during a news conference in Bangkok, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016, regarding the wave of bomb blasts in the central and southern Thailand, including th.
Southern militants fighting for greater autonomy have carried out sophisticated, coordinated attacks before, but most have hit three provinces in the far south that were not among those targeted this week.
The violence occurred just ahead of the first anniversary of the August 17 bombing of Bangkok’s popular Erawan Shrine, which left 20 dead and injured more than 120 others.
Hua Hin, an easy weekend getaway for residents of Bangkok, was returning to normal on Saturday – though most businesses in the vicinity of the Thursday night explosions remained closed, a Reuters witness said.
Police in the Thai resort of Hua Hin have arrested two men after bomb attacks there and across the country left four people dead, BBC News reports.
The first bomb exploded in the southern province of Trang – an area full of handsome beaches and tourist islands – killing one person and injuring six, according to police.
Analysts say it was also no coincidence the attacks came on the eve and 84th birthday of Queen Sirikit.
“No political aim justifies violence and attacks on innocent people”, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement.
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.
According to security sources, Thailand sought Malaysia’s cooperation to investigate a mobile phone used in one of the bomb blasts in Phuket, yesterday, which is said to have originated from Malaysia.
Many shops in the city center closed afterward and normally bustling streets were empty.
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Hua Hin was hit by another two bombs in quick succession on Friday morning near a clock tower, killing one person and wounding four more. If true, the insurgents could be from Muslim-majority provinces in the south or those loyal to the former ruling party – the Puea Thai Party (PTP).
