DTN News - THAILAND NEWS: Bombs In Southern Thailand kill 14, Wound 341
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Sumeth Panpetch, Associated Press
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 31, 2012: Suspected Muslim insurgents staged the most deadly coordinated attacks in years in Thailand's restive south, killing 14 people and wounding 340 with car bombs that targeted Saturday shoppers and a high-rise hotel frequented by foreign tourists.
A first batch of explosives planted inside a parked pickup truck ripped through an area of restaurants and shops in a busy area of Yala city, a main commercial hub of Thailand's restive southern provinces, said district police chief Col. Kritsada Kaewchandee.
About 20 minutes later, just as onlookers gathered at the blast site, a second car bomb exploded, causing the majority of casualties. Eleven people were killed and 110 wounded by the blasts.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces — Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala — since an Islamist insurgency flared in January 2004.
"This is the worst attack in the past few years," said Col. Pramote Promin, deputy spokesman of a regional security agency. "The suspected insurgents were targeting people's lives. They (chose) a bustling commercial area, so they wanted to harm people."
Most attacks are small-scale bombings or drive-by shootings that target soldiers, police and symbols of authority, but suspected insurgents have also staged large attacks in commercial areas.
Separately, a blast occurred at a high-rise hotel in the city of Hat Yai, in the nearby province of Songkhla, that officials initially attributed to a gas leak and said was unrelated to the attacks blamed on insurgents.
The midday explosion at the 405-room Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel, where throngs of Malaysian and Singaporean tourists spend their weekends, killed three people and caused about 230 injuries, mostly from smoke inhalation, said police Lt. Puwadon Wiriyawarangkun.
After inspecting the hotel's underground parking lot, authorities found a severely damaged sedan and a hole created by the explosion's impact.
Regional police chief Lt. Gen. Jakthip Chaijinda said the Hat Yai incident "is likely related to what happened in Yala and might have been plotted by the same group of insurgents."
Police said the blast that occurred at the underground level of the hotel had ripped the building's cooking gas pipeline, causing a fire that sent smoke spiraling into the upper floors and trapping many people in their rooms until rescuers came. One of the fatalities was identified as a Malaysian tourist.
A McDonald's restaurant on the hotel's ground floor appeared to have suffered heavy damage from the blast.
The hotel was also targeted in 2006, when four people including a Canadian man were killed by six bombs that had been planted on Hat Yai's main street. Hat Yai and the rest of Songkhla province have generally been spared the violence that has wracked Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
In Saturday's third incident, suspected Muslim militants detonated a motorcycle bomb 50 meters (55 yards) away from a local police station in Pattani province's Mae Lan district, wounding one police officer, according to police Col. Tharet Kaewla-eiad.
The Yala bombings occurred on a road that was previously heavily guarded by checkpoints and closed to traffic to ensure safety. But the security was lifted in 2011 after local vendors said the measures harmed their businesses.
Initial accounts of the Yala attack cited three blasts with explosives planted in cars and motorcycles but officials later corrected themselves.
In October last year, suspected militants staged coordinated attacks at more than 30 spots across Yala city, killing three people and injuring more than 50. A month earlier, a trio of bombs hidden in vehicles hit a busy section of Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat province, killing four people and leaving more than 60 wounded.
Thai authorities have imposed a state of emergency since 2005 that gives security forces special powers to arrest and detain suspects in the three provinces. But the decree and a massive security presence have failed to curb the violence and little is known about the militants or their goals.
The insurgents have made no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state. The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.
Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani are the only Muslim-dominated provinces in the predominantly Buddhist country. Muslims in the area have long complained of discrimination by the central government.
Associated Press Writers Jocelyn Gecker and Thanyarat Doksone in Bangkok contributed to this report.
*DTN Thailand @DTNThailand ~ Available on TwitterComprehensive Daily Related News on Thailand Today ~ © Copyright (c) DTN News Defense-Technology News
Sky News Australia - 19 minutes ago
Thai blasts kill eight and more injured Updated: 05:17, Sunday April 1, 2012 Eight people have been killed and dozens injured in three bomb blasts in southern Thailand, where authorities are blaming Muslim insurgents. Yala Governor Dethrat Simsiri said ...
Zee News - 31 minutes ago
Hat Yai (Thailand): Suspected Muslim insurgents staged the most deadly attack in years in Thailand's restive south, killing 11 people and wounding 110 with car bombs that targeted Saturday shoppers just before lunchtime. A first batch of explosives ...
Bangkok Post - 33 minutes ago
Turmoil descended on the South yesterday when three bomb explosions rocked Yala and a blaze gutted a luxurious hotel in Songkhla, causing at least 14 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Thick smoke pours from the ground floor of the Lee Gardens Plaza ...
NPR - 48 minutes ago
by AP A rescue worker looks for injured people at the site of a car bomb blast in Thailand's southern province of Yala on Saturday. A rescue worker looks for injured people at the site of a car bomb blast in Thailand's southern province of Yala on...
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 1 hour ago
SUMETH PANPETCH, AP HAT YAI, Thailand (AP) — Suspected Muslim insurgents staged the most deadly coordinated attacks in years in Thailand's restive south, killing 14 people and wounding 340 with car bombs that targeted Saturday shoppers and a high-rise ...
Arab News - 1 hour ago
Thai rescue workers extinguish a fire at the site of a bomb blast in southern Thailand's Yala province. (Reuters) By REUTERS YALA, Thailand: Nine people died and at least 70 were injured in a series of bomb explosions on Saturday in Thailand's Muslim ...
Boston Herald - 2 hours ago
By AP BANGKOK — Bombs in southern Thailand have killed five people and wounded more than 50 in the central district of a provincial capital. Yala Governor Dethrat Simsiri says three explosions took place at midday Saturday within a 100-yard radius over ...
Vancouver Sun - 2 hours ago
YALA - Three bomb attacks minutes apart killed 10 people and wounded more than 100 on Saturday in the main town in Thailand's insurgency-hit far south. The blasts hit the centre of Yala town around midday as families were out shopping, ...
CNN International - 3 hours ago
By the CNN Wire Staff (CNN) -- At least 10 people were killed and more than 100 wounded following a pair of bombings Saturday in the southern Thai city of Yala, Thai media reported. The two blasts were the result of bombs stashed in stolen trucks, ...
The Guardian - 3 hours ago
At least 11 people have been killed and at least 110 wounded in three co-ordinated bomb blasts in Yala, southern Thailand. The bombs went off in a busy shopping street within minutes of each other. Muslim insurgents are suspected of being behind the ...
Voice of America (blog) - 3 hours ago
Officials in Thailand say eight people have died and at least 70 people were wounded in three bomb blasts just minutes apart in the country's insurgency-plagued south. The governor of Yala says the bombs went off Saturday around lunchtime in Yala...
Reuters India - 3 hours ago
| YALA, Thailand (Reuters) - Nine people died and at least 70 were injured in a series of bomb explosions on Saturday in Thailand's Muslim south, the latest in a wave of violence blamed on separatists in a region bordering Malaysia, ...
euronews - 4 hours ago
A series of bomb blasts killed nine people and injured at least 100 in the south of Thailand on Saturday. The explosions were the latest in a wave of violence in the mostly Buddhist country blamed on Islamic separatists, said commentators.
Los Angeles Times - 4 hours ago
REPORTING FROM NEW DELHI -– At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded when a series of coordinated bombs detonated in Thailand's restive Muslim-dominated southern area Saturday, according to police and officials. Three bombs went off within ...
Bangkok Post - 5 hours ago
Three bomb attacks minutes apart killed 10 people and wounded more than 100 on Saturday in the heart of Yala in the insurgency-hit far south. The blasts took place within a 10-minute span near the Ruam Mitr intersection in the main business centre of ...
Hindustan Times - 5 hours ago
A Thai rescue worker looks for injured people at the site of a car bomb blast in Thailand's southern restive province of Yala. Three bomb attacks killed seven people and wounded dozens more in this main town in Thailand's insurgency-hit far south, ...
Wall Street Journal - 5 hours ago
By JAMES HOOKWAY Suspected Muslim separatists launched the deadliest attack in years in Thailand's troubled southern provinces on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and wounding over a hundred more with a series of car bombs after weeks of steadily ...
The Hindu - 5 hours ago
At least 10 people were killed and more than 100 wounded as three bombs detonated in Thailand's strife-torn far south Saturday, the authorities said. The three bombs, on motorcycles, exploded between about noon and 12:30 pm in Yala town, ...
IBNLive.com - 6 hours ago
AP Hat Yai: Suspected Muslim insurgents staged the most deadly coordinated attacks in years in Thailand's restive south, killing 14 people and wounding 340 with car bombs that targeted on Saturday shoppers and a high-rise hotel frequented by foreign ...
The Nation, Pakistan - 6 hours ago
A series of bomb blasts have killed at least eight people and wounded at least 70 in Thailand's main town in the southern area of Yala, according to military officials. Conflicting accounts from officials on Saturday said that Saturday's attacks ...
Khaleej Times - 7 hours ago
YALA, Thailand — Three bomb attacks minutes apart killed nine people and wounded more than 100 on Saturday in the main town in Thailand's insurgency-hit far south, a hospital worker said. The blasts hit the centre of Yala around midday as families were ...
AngolaPress - 7 hours ago
BANGKOK - At least eight people have been killed in three explosions in the southern Thai province of Yala, officials say. Yala Governor Dejrat Simsiri said the blasts occurred over 10 minutes at around midday (06:00 BST) in the commercial district of ...
The Guardian - 7 hours ago
At least 11 people have been killed and 110 wounded in co-ordinated bomb attacks by suspected Muslim insurgents in the main shopping area of a city in southern Thailand. The casualties made it one of the largest attacks in months in the troubled ...
AsiaOne - 8 hours ago
YALA, Thailand - Three bomb attacks killed seven people and wounded dozens more Saturday in the main town in Thailand's insurgency-hit far south, the military said. The blasts hit the centre of Yala around midday just minutes apart.
Daily Mail - 8 hours ago
By Daily Mail Reporter Nine people have been killed, and at least 70 wounded, in a series of bomb attacks at a shopping area in Thailand. The devices were hidden inside motorbikes and cars and detonated by mobile phones. Suspected Muslim insurgents are ...
NDTV - 9 hours ago
AP, Updated: March 31, 2012 15:56 IST Hat Yai,Thailand: Suspected Muslim insurgents set off coordinated bomb blasts as shoppers gathered for lunch on Saturday in a busy hub of Thailand's restive south, killing eight people and wounding 68, ...
Bangkok Post - 10 hours ago
Three bomb attacks killed seven people and wounded dozens more on Saturday in the heart of Yala, the military said. Blasts such as the one pictured above, in Yala in July 2011, have been a frequent occurrence in the southern insurgency now in its ninth ...
Aljazeera.com - 11 hours ago
At least nine people killed and dozens wounded in series of explosions in southern regional capital of Yala. A series of bomb blasts have killed at least nine people and wounded at least 50 in Thailand's main town in the southern area of Yala, ...
RT - 11 hours ago
Thai rescue workers help an injured man after a car bomb blast in Thailand's southern restive province of Yala on March 31, 2012. (AFP Photo / Muhhamad Sabri) Three bomb blasts have struck the southern town of Yala, killing eleven people and wounding ...
Huffington Post - 12 hours ago
By SUMETH PANPETCH 03/31/12 02:11 PM ET A Thai army soldier in civilian clothes (CR) helps an injured man away from a car bomb blast in Thailand's southern restive province of Yala on March 31, 2012. Three bomb attacks killed seven people and wounded ...
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Sumeth Panpetch, Associated Press*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News *This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com ©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS
No comments:
Post a Comment