Six people were killed and 11 injured in eight separate bomb attacks from late last night (July 10) to this morning (July 11) in the restive southern provinces of Narathiwat, Songkhla and Yala.
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Arson was blamed for the deaths of three others at a shop in Sungai Kolok, another border town, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Meanwhile, a bomb planted on a motorbike exploded in front of the Top Asia hotel, injuring eight people and causing heavy damage to surrounding vehicles. Three of those hurt were women from Laos.
It was not immediately clear if the attacks were coordinated but they come during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when the south often experiences an upswing in violence.
Police Col. Kong-at Suwannakam said attackers suspected to be Muslim separatists also threw giant firecrackers at restaurants and set fire to two other shops in Sungai Kolok, leaving eight people wounded.
A homemade bomb, which was believed to be hidden in a parked motorcycle, went off near a police booth at Padang Besar subdistrict of Songkhla province’s Sadao district at about at 8:50 p.m. local time, police said.
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More than 5,000 people been killed in the ongoing conflict.
