It is also home to a palace for years favoured by Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch.
Advertisement
Thai voters last Sunday approved a new junta-backed Constitution that would pave the way for an election next year and give the military, which seized power in a coup two years ago, the final say on future elected governments.
The attacks occurred south of Bangkok and several of the blasts – including one on Patong beach in the tourist town of Phuket and four in the seaside resort city of Hua Hin – appeared created to strike the tourism industry, which provides vital income to the government.
Many people had gone to Hua Hin, a coastal resort on the Gulf of Thailand, in anticipation of the holiday.
Foreign governments, including the United States, issued warnings urging travelers to use caution and avoid affected areas.
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.
“We are still confident that Thailand will be able to rebound from any negative incidents or crises in a short period of time as was the case after the bombing at the Erawan shrine past year”, said president Kamonwan Wipulakorn.
Prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said this week’s bombs were an “attempt to create chaos and confusion”. “We have to band together and stay strong”.
It was not clear who was behind the attacks, but police said the violence was not linked to Islamic terrorism. Authorities have put two Uighur (Chinese Muslim) suspects on trial, but say they have not yet ascertained a motive for that bombing.
Southern militants fighting for greater autonomy have carried out sophisticated, co-ordinated attacks before, but most have targeted three provinces in the far south.
Two bombs went off in the resort of Hua Hin on Friday morning near the clock tower, a city landmark, killing one and injuring three. One Thai woman was killed and about 20 people were wounded, 11 of them foreigners.
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.
Police officials said several of the bombs were detonated by cellphones.
Pubs and bars in the popular seaside tourist town Hua Hin, south of Bangkok, were packed on Thursday night as tourists and locals celebrated ahead of the Queen Sirikit birthday celebrations. The blast followed a series of two explosions in Hua Hin Thursday evening that left one person dead and a number injured.
The devices were similar to those used by separatist groups in southern Thailand, but that did not conclusively show they were the perpetrators, he said.
Phuket’s Patong beach, a major seaside and bar strip, was also hit on Friday. Two more detonated half an hour apart in front of two police stations in Surat Thani in southern Thailand, killing one and wounding three.
In Trang province yesterday, a man was killed and five people injured when a bomb exploded near a busy market in the 3pm incident, which the authorities initially blamed on conflicting interests of local groups.
At least four Thai nationals have been killed and about 36 others were injured, including 10 foreigners, according to Anurak Amornpetchsathaporn with the Ministry of Public Health.
Advertisement
Louis Moser, chairman of the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), an industry body which represents 86 global airlines and 26 aviation service providers operating in Thailand, said that there will definitely be some effect, especially as the attacks took place in well-known tourist spots. “But the investigation is unclear on who actually did it, what are the reasons behind it”.
