Five fire bombs explode southern Thailand
Five fire bombs exploded just minutes apart in southern Thailand’s Pattani town in what police said today was likely a coordinated attack by Muslim insurgents in the restive region.
No injuries were reported from the bombs, described by police as Molotov cocktails, which were thrown at four homes and a shop in the provincial capital at about 10:35 pm local time.
“Police are investigating the cause of the attacks,” a policeman in Pattani told AFP, adding that a preliminary investigation suggests the bombings were related to ongoing separatist violence in the south which has left more than 500 people dead this year.
Two policemen and a civil servant were among those who lived in the homes, which suffered minor damage from the bombings.
Thai television reported a sixth small bomb exploding in a Pattani district outside town, also causing no injuries.
Authorities have warned of reprisal attacks in the south after the deaths of at least 87 Muslim protesters following a riot at Tak Bai in the southern province of Narathiwat.
Most of them died from suffocation after being bound and piled into the backs of army trucks.
Meanwhile, Army Supreme Commander General Chaisit Shinawatra appealed on Thai radio today to the insurgents to end their campaign of violence and warned they could be jeopardising their “younger generations’ futures” by continuing to engage in militancy.
