THAILAND: Two bombs explode in Thailand's Muslim southern province of Narathiwat injuring 73 people

Record ID: 356755

  • Title: THAILAND: Two bombs explode in Thailand's Muslim southern province of Narathiwat injuring 73 people
  • Date: 4th November 2008
  • Summary: (BN08) NARATHIWAT, THAILAND (NOVEMBER 4, 2005) (REUTERS) POLICE AND MILITARY WALKING TO INSPECT BOMB BLAST BURNT PICKUP TRUCK FROM BOMB BLAST FORENSIC POLICE SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE NEAR BURNT PICKUP TRUCK VARIOUS OF POLICE AND MILITARY WALKING TO INSPECT BOMB BLAST SOLIDER TAKING PICTURE OF MOTORCYCLE THAT BOMB WAS HIDDEN DAMAGE OF MOTORCYCLE INJURED VICTIMS AT HOSPITAL
  • Embargoed: 19th November 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA27L4QRO3V4Y2NB650DTA87CP6
  • Story Text: A car bomb blast at a fruit market and another explosion minutes later at a nearby teashop wounded 73 people in Muslim southern Thailand on Tuesday (November 4), where 3,200 people have died in a five-year rebellion, police said.
    The first explosion appeared to target an outdoor meeting of village chiefs at a district office in Narathiwat, one of the three southernmost provinces roiled by the violence, police said.
    A second device hidden in a motorcycle exploded two minutes later at a tea-shop 100 metres (yards) away, police said.
    Five of the victims had shrapnel wounds to the head or torso, and two needed surgery, a state hospital official told Reuters.
    Forty were released after treatment for minor injuries, the official added.
    Narathiwat and the neighbouring provinces of Pattani and Yala, abutting Malaysia, were a Muslim sultanate until annexed by predominantly Bangkok a century ago. Around 80 percent of people there remain Muslim and speak a Malay dialect, not Thai.
    The violence has ranged from drive-by shootings and bombings, to beheadings and appears to target both Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state, such as police, soldiers, teachers and government officials.
    Human rights groups also accuse the Thai military and police of atrocities.
    No group has ever claimed responsibility for the violence, which has remained limited to the immediate area.
    There has also been no evidence to suggest direct links with international militant groups such as Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda or its regional affiliate, Jemaah Islamiah.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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