Thai southern Muslim militants launched at least nine bomb
attacks simultaneously at several commercial banks in southernmost
province of Yala Thursday morning, killing at least one person and
injuring dozens, a military source told Xinhua.
The explosions happened nearly at the same time at 11:30 AM
local time (04:30 GMT), the source said.
At least six attacks were made in Yala city, the provincial
capital, and three others in Yaha district and Bannang Sata
district.
Local police said all the remote-control-bombs were installed in
front of banks, including the Siam Commercial Bank, Bank of
Ayutthaya, the Islamic Bank of Thailand, Siam City Bank and the
Krung Thai Bank.
The source said at least one person was killed on the spot and
more than ten injured seriously have been sent to Yala Provincial
Hospital. But local police sources said many could be killed and
injured but an exact number was still not known.
A source from the Siam City Bank in Yala downtown told Thai
newspaper the Nation that an official received a phone
call, saying a bomb had been planted near the manager's room.
The caller told the bank to evacuate its employees immediately
but the bomb exploded shortly after the phone was hung up.
A bank official was injured on his arm and bank customers ran
for their life after the explosion, the Nation said on its
website.
A week ago, some intelligence agencies have claimed that the
Bersatu, or United Front for the Independence of Pattani, planned
to launch massive attacks in Thailand's three southernmost
provinces on August 31. But the Army early said it had received no
information about the planned attacks.
At least 1,300 people have been killed since unrest broke out in
January 2004 in three mainly Muslim provinces along Thailand's
border with Malaysia. The violence was blamed on a complex web of
Islamic separatists, local corruption and organized crime.
(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2006)
