NPR quoted reporter Michael Sullivan via Newscast that the government is “insisting that the attacks are not the work of ‘terrorists, ‘ in an attempt to limit damage to the country’s lucrative tourism industry”.
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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.
Analysts said it would also be a huge embarrassment to Thailand’s coup-installed military government, which has made boosting national security a flagship policy of its regime.
Some Thai officials have pointed to political motivations being behind the planting of 14 bombs across the country since Wednesday that killed four people and injured at least 33 others.
The site of the earliest blasts in Hua Hin.
Small improvised bombs have been used frequently for attacks during periods of unrest over the past decade of political turmoil in Thailand.
One of the explosions happened at Patong beach in Phuket, and four blasts took place in the resort city of Hua Hin.
Overnight and into Friday, bombs also went off on Phuket’s Loma Beach in southern Thailand and the southern provinces of Trang, Surat Thani and Phang Nga.
However, such attacks have been rare since the military seized power in a May 2014 coup.
The United States and other foreign governments issued travel warnings.
There are now no indications that any Britons have been hurt in the explosions, although tourists from Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands are among the injured.
“Upholding due process and the fair trial rights of those responsible will be key not only to delivering justice for the victims, but also to demonstrating Thailand’s commitment to the rule of law in the face of heinous crimes”, Adams said.
One of the injured receives help in Hua Hin.
It is not yet known who perpetrated the attacks and no group has claimed responsibility.
The violence began on Thursday afternoon when a bomb exploded in the province of Trang, killing one person and injuring six, according to police.
Security has been stepped up in key locations across the country, including tourist resorts and airports.
“We have to band together and stay strong”, he added. Has Thailand seen similar attacks?
“I insist that these incidents were local sabotage in limited areas”, he said at a press conference to give updates on the incidents, here, yesterday.
Those behind the attacks haven’t yet been identified.
No group has said it carried out the attacks but suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist separatists. One person was killed and three were injured.
He said the bombs had been hidden in plant pots and detonated by cellphone. Meanwhile in April, a vehicle bombing near Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui caused a number of injuries. The force of one blast mangled a police kiosk near a pedestrian mall. The town was hit again by multiple blasts on Friday.
Thai police said least 11 bombs, many of them twin blasts, have hit five southern provinces in the past 24 hours, killing four people and wounding several dozen, including foreigners.
The blast followed a series of two explosions in Hua Hin Thursday even.
In Hua Hin, German tourist Peter Rabb told Thailand’s Voice TV: “Everyone is very friendly and very nice”. Surat Thani saw two explosions in front of police stations half-an-hour apart.
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According to statistics available with Thailand Tourism department, in 2015, the country registered a 15% increase in tourist arrivals from India with 15,06,000 tourists.
