Bombings in Thailand target tourist cities, killing 4 people

The bombs that exploded yesterday in Hua Hin killed one Thai woman and wounded 21 other people, nine of them foreigners, Thai police said. The violence comes as Thailand holds a public holiday to mark the birthday of Queen Sirikit. Police are investigating as to who are responsible for the attacks, and what remains the motive.

The latest troubles began Thursday afternoon, when a bomb exploded in the southern province of Trang – an area full of lovely beaches and tourist islands – killing one person and injuring six, according to police.

National police chief Chakthip Chaijinda instructed all police agencies to tighten security at government offices and symbolic places, particularly bus terminals, railway stations, airports, tourist attractions and areas frequented by tourists.

One of the injured is rushed to hospital.

The apparent coordinated attacks in Hua Hin injured 11 foreigners, while the wave of blasts across southern Thailand has wounded dozens of others, noted The Telegraph.

The three provinces soundly rejected the referendum on the new military backed constitution which passed overwhelmingly in the rest of the country in Sunday’s vote.

TAT says the incidents are under police investigation. One person was killed in the Trang blast, which occurred Thursday, and another was killed in the Surat Thani attack on Friday morning.

The attackers reportedly used firebombs and homemade explosives to create havoc in popular tourist areas, which caused fires at local markets and shops in multiple locations. “There may be an increased security presence and restrictions on local travel”.

“We assumed the Bangkok police had just shut the strip down, as they often do if clubs are running too late but when we left we noticed that there were police everywhere, people weren’t looking for other places to continue drinking, but were hurrying to tuk-tuks to leave”. Thailand remains politically divided following a 2014 military coup as warring conservative and populist political factions vie for power in the Southeast Asian kingdom.

The violence began August 11 in the town of Trang, where a device exploded outside a market, killing one person and injuring four others. One exploded on Phuket’s popular Patong beach, injuring one person.

Samer said the first bomb on Thursday had exploded about 20 minutes earlier around 50 metres (55 yards) away.

At least two people are confirmed dead and at least 15 others are injured, authorities said. “There was a loud noise and police were running everywhere, it was awful”, said Michael Edwards, an Australian tourist staying in a guest house in Hua Hin close to where one of the bombs detonated.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political expert with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said the attacks were a “blatant challenge to the military”, which has ruled over Thailand since royalist generals seized power in a 2014 coup.