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4 killed, more than 50 injured in triplet bomb attacks in Thailand’s restive south

16 September 2011 17:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Three separate bomb attacks shocked Thailand’s southmost Narathiwat province Friday night, killing at least four people and wounding more than 50, possibly including some Malaysian tourists, local media reported, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The first explosion occurred around 6:55 p.m. local time outside a beer bar in Sungai Kolok district. When police officers arrived at the scene to start investigation, another bomb around 300 meters away from the first one was ignited.

Later, a nearby restaurant and adjacent buildings were torn apart by a third bomb hidden in a car which was parked outside the restaurant. According to a report on the Nation newspaper’s website, the death toll of the three consecutive attacks was four and the injured might include some Malaysian tourists.

Since the resurgence of insurgency in January 2004, around 11, 074 violent incidents instigated by secessionists in the Muslim- dominant southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat happened, with 4,846 people killed and nearly 8,000 injured, according a report released Friday by the Deep South Watch.

Deputy Prime Minister Kowit Wattana earlier Friday admitted that "violence has intensified" in the three southernmost provinces, adding that he had instructed the authorities to take extra precautions.