Thais and tourists headed warily into the main part of a big holiday weekend Saturday as police looked for suspects and a motive behind a series of blasts that shook resort towns across Thailand, killing four people and wounding dozens more.
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Eleven foreigners were wounded in the blasts, including nationals of Austria, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Within 24 hours, there were at least 11 explosions in five provinces in Thailand’s southern region.
A bomb attack at a Hindu shrine located among luxury shopping malls and hotels in central Bangkok killed 20 people and injured more than 120 others in August 2015.
He said southern insurgents were the only group capable of carrying out the coordinated attack, dismissing theories that the junta’s other political foes were responsible.
“I can assure you that this is not a terrorist attack or the expansion of militants from the three southernmost province”, deputy police commissioner Ponsapat Pongcharoen told reporters.
Tourism is one of the only growth sectors in Thailand, and accounts for 10 percent of an economy that has struggled under the stewardship of a military government that seized power two years ago.
But the timing suggested it could have been carried out by opponents of the nation’s ruling junta, whose leadership last weekend organized a successful referendum on new constitution that critics say will bolster the military’s power for years to come.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) urged those travelling to Thailand to exercise a high degree of caution and stay clear of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla.
Friday’s blast took place on the birthday of Thailand’s Queen Sirikit. Law enforcement officials made two arrests on Friday, with suspicions falling on enemies of the junta after authorities ruled out worldwide terrorism.
Police Gen. Apichart Boonsriroj said the bombs exploded in front of two police stations half an hour apart in Surat Thani in southern Thailand.
Hua Hin, which lies about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Bangkok, is popular with both local and foreign travellers and was for years the favourite seaside retreat of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha expressed frustration and said, “Why now when the country is getting better, and tourism is getting better?”
The first bomb exploded near a police box, wounding one Thai man, a police officer in Phuket said.
The type of home-made bombs have been used by attackers in Thailand, but since military rule such attacks have been extremely rare.
In the normally peaceful resort town of Hua Hin, blood-spattered tourists were treated by rescue workers as forensic teams picked through the rubble, with police scrambling to reassure visitors the situation was under control. The Hua Hin explosions on Thursday night struck a bar area popular with tourists and foreigners were among those injured.
Thailand has been controlled by a military government since a coup in 2014. “I think the authorities will move very quickly to expand the search and investigation”.
Even as police searched for suspects and fears of more bombs continued, locals said the explosions will be a blow to tourism, a critical source of income.
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All of the bombs were reportedly detonated by mobile phone signals, aimed at creating chaos in the country after last Sunday’s draft constitution referendum, police said.
