Deadly blasts strike southern Thailand

Series of explosions kill at least six and wound 11 others, some at a karaoke bar in border town of Padang Besar.

THAILAND-SOUTH-UNREST
A karaoke bar and a shop were targeted in the bomb attacks [Getty Images]

At least six people have been killed and 11 others wounded after a series of attacks in southern Thailand’s border region with Malaysia.

The dead included three women, who were killed when a motorcycle bomb exploded late Friday night near a karaoke bar in the border town of Padang Besar, said police official Niyom Dumla-iad.

Three other people were hurt and the explosion damaged the bar and nearby houses, cars and motorcycles.

Arson was blamed for the deaths of three others at a shop in Sungai Kolok, another border town, the Associated Press news agency reported. Eight other people were wounded by an improvised bomb hidden in a planter in front of a hotel.Three of those hurt were women from Laos.

More than 5,000 people in Thailand’s southernmost provinces have been killed since a separatist uprising erupted in 2004 in the largely Malay Muslim south. The fighters have not issued specific demands but are generally believed to be fighting for an independent state.

Thai border towns have a reputation for a nightlife and the attacks came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Police Colonel Kong-at Suwannakam said attackers suspected to be separatists also threw giant firecrackers at restaurants and set fire to two other shops in Sungai Kolok, leaving eight people wounded.

In Yala province, improvised bombs toppled eight electricity transmission towers overnight, police said.

Source: AP