Bomb Blast Kills 14

[cojones]

Thai bomb blast at restaurant kills 14

Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- At least 14 people died of a bomb blast Friday at a restaurant in the religiously contentious south of the nation, the BBC reported.

A bomb in the provincial capital of Narathiwat injured diners, passers-by and two policemen, police and hospital staff told Thai officials.

Someone pretending to be a customer left a bomb in a bag at the restaurant and detonated it after leaving, authorities said.

The number of wounded was not immediately available, and authorities were seeking suspects.

Conflicts between Muslims in the area and the nation's predominantly Buddhist majority have escalated in recent months. So far this year, at least 500 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and militants, including at least 85 Muslims at a recent protest.

There also were reports of at least one other bomb in the same area. In a neighboring province a teacher was shot to death from the back of a motorcycle

[cojones]

Buddhist Teacher Killed, Two Bombs Hit Thai South

Fri Nov 12, 2004 09:04 AM ET

By Nopporn Wong-Anan

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed a Buddhist martial arts teacher and two bombs wounded at least 10 people in Thailand's restive south on Friday in apparent revenge for the deaths of 85 Muslims, police said.

They also said experts defused a bomb planted in the residential quarters of a police station in a compound also housing a primary school and designed to be set off by mobile phone.

Hiran Kongcharoen, a 45-year-old kick-boxing teacher at a school in Yala province, was shot in the head and knee as he was returning home from a funeral in neighboring Pattani province and died in hospital, they said.

"I've asked his wife and she insisted that he did not have any conflict with anyone," an investigator told Reuters. "We now suspect the killing was motivated by the recent violence."

He was referring to the seven people shot dead by security forces during a rally at Tak Bai police station in nearby Narathiwat province and 78 protesters who died after being detained, most from suffocation in overcrowded army trucks.

At least 27 people, almost all of them Buddhists, have been killed since the Oct. 25 Tak Bai deaths, which prompted warnings from Muslim clerics and analysts that the "massacre" could trigger reprisal attacks.

A bomb exploded at a restaurant in Narathiwat's provincial capital, injuring about 10 diners and passers-by and two policemen, police and hospital staff said.

Another bomb exploded outside adjacent motorcycle and home appliance showrooms in Tak Bai district, 18 miles away, causing damage but no injuries inside, police said.

Earlier in Narathiwat's Yi Ngor district, a bomb weighing 15 pounds and filled with dynamite, fertilizer and nails, was placed in the police housing unit with a mobile phone visible, police said.

A bomb squad switched off mobile phone signals in the area and defused the device, police said.

"They wanted to make a news headline," an officer at Yi Ngor police station told Reuters by telephone. "Luckily someone found it before it exploded."

Later on Friday, a soldier was injured in clashes with militants in Narathiwat's Janae district and a Buddhist villager was shot and wounded by two gunmen on a motorcycle in Joh Airong district in the same province, police said.

Militants also stole seven state-issued shotguns lent to villagers to defend themselves in three districts in Yala and Narathiwat provinces, police said.

Almost 500 people have been killed in violence in the south this year. The trouble in the Malay-speaking region erupted on Jan. 4, when gunmen killed four soldiers in a raid on an army camp and made off with more than 300 M-16 assault rifles. (Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat)

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

[Narachon]

Uh Oh.....

[Erawan]

Interesting, I'm looking at the BBC News website right now and it says that 'at least 14 people were injured', not killed.

[stumonster]

One dead in fourth Thai blast

From correspondents in Bangkok, Thailand

November 13, 2004

A 60-YEAR-OLD Buddhist man was killed and seven people injured today in a blast at a market, the fourth in less than 24 hours in Thailand's violence-wracked Muslim-majority south, police said.

Sompong Nookhao, a food seller at the market, was killed and three of the injured left in a critical condition from the blast during a busy early morning shopping period in the Than To district of Yala province, police said.

The scene of the blast was cordoned off today as forensic teams were brought into investigate, according to police.

"We don't yet know what sort of device was used," said a spokesman.

At least 16 people were injured this evening in the first of three apparently coordinated bomb attacks in the neighbouring province of Narathiwat.

The first bomb was planted in a crowded restaurant in the capital of Narathiwat province by two men posing as customers and it exploded five minutes later after they rode off on a motorcycle.

Two other bombs went off within two hours, including the first at Tak Bai, but nobody was injured, according to officials.

Tensions have increased in the region since 87 Muslim protesters died on October 25 after security forces broke up a riot at Tak Bai, in Narathiwat province.

Most of the victims died of suffocation after hundreds of men were arrested, tied up and piled into the backs of trucks.

More than 540 people have died during a separatist-inspired insurgency since January this year.

Analysts say separatists, religious extremists and disaffected Muslims who have long complained of discrimination by the Thai authorities are behind the violence.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/commo...55E1702,00.html

not to worry, mr T says the problems in the south are under control.

[Doctor John]

Maybe it is fortunate that the rebels do not seem so extreme, just one bomb in a tourist area such as Phuket or Pattaya would decimate Thailands tourist industry on a scale of Bali proportions, and also attract worlwide attention to their cause.

I hate to say this, but it could well come to that.

[nogutsnoapplepie]

Maybe it is fortunate that the rebels do  not seem so extreme, just one bomb in a tourist area such as Phuket or Pattaya would decimate Thailands tourist industry on a scale of Bali proportions, and also attract worlwide attention to their cause.

I hate to say this, but it could well come to that. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's only a matter of time.These guys will wait until Xmas and then BOOM!!!

[Pattayaguy1999]

Maybe it is fortunate that the rebels do  not seem so extreme, just one bomb in a tourist area such as Phuket or Pattaya would decimate Thailands tourist industry on a scale of Bali proportions, and also attract worlwide attention to their cause.

I hate to say this, but it could well come to that. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We can only hope that the extremists in the south will continue to battle security forces rather than bomb tourist locations. Dr. John is right, several easily concealed backpack bombs in discos or hotels would devaste tourist numbers in Pattaya and Phuket. Thailand is in for a very difficult struggle with muslims in the south. I am hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.