Several bomb explosions hit southern Thailand, six injured
Bangkok, Aug 17 (EFE).- A series of 11 bomb explosions shook southern Nepal early on Wednesday in what appears to be coordinated attacks that injured six people mildly.
According to the authorities, the explosions occurred at many 24-hour convenience stores and gas stations in the provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala, which are home to several radical Muslim insurgent groups.
No group claimed responsibility for the blasts hours after the attacks.
Government spokesperson Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha condemned the attacks.
The prime minister called the attacks “outrageous” and asked authorities to investigate the incidents and arrest the suspects.
“He (the prime minister) also advised officials to use extra caution during investigations and prioritize the safety of life and property of locals, as well as increase security measures if necessary,” Thanakorn told reporters in Bangkok.
Despite the government’s deployment of 40,000 security officers in the region, small weapons attacks, assassinations, and bomb blasts are common in the Thai regions.
Since 2004, suspected Muslim separatist attacks and shootings in southern Thailand have killed over 7,000 people and injured 20,000 more.
The Muslim insurgents claimed that the country’s Buddhist majority discriminated against them.
They want increased autonomy or independence for the three southern provinces that used to be part of the Patani Sultanate before Thailand seized it in the early twentieth century.
Several rounds of talks have taken place in Malaysia during the last decade between the government and the militants. EFE
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