Munir Uz Zaman—AFP/Getty ImagesThai rescue workers attend to an injured victim after a small bomb exploded in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Aug.12, 2016
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks
A series of bombs in Thailand have killed at least four people
and injured more than 20, including ten foreign nationals, in a
suspected coordinated attack that Thai officials said was to bring
“chaos” to the Southeast Asian nation.
Multiple bombs were detonated in five cities, all south of the
capital Bangkok and popular with foreign tourists on Thursday night and
Friday morning.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but Thai
authorities said they are not linked to Islamic terrorism. Thai police
Col. Krisana Patanacharoen said it was too soon to say who was behind
the bombings but “we are sure that it is not linked to terrorism,” the Associated Press reports.
A double explosion in the Southeast Asian nation’s resort town of Hua
Hin on Thursday night local time killed one Thai woman and injured
about 20 others, including ten foreign tourists Agence France-Presse
reports. The two bombs, which went off 30 minutes apart, were hidden in
potted plants on a busy street and were detonated from mobile phones,
said the superintendent of police in Hua Hin, Sutthichai
Srisopacharoenrat. The bombs hit a popular nightlife area full of bars
and restaurants.
According to the Guardian,
the names of the ten foreign nationals injured in the Thursday night
blasts in Hua Hin have been released. Among those wounded are two Dutch
men, a Dutch woman, and seven others ranging in age from 16 to 48. Thai media reports that the woman killed was a street food vendor.
“Of the 19 [wounded], three are in serious condition and seven of the
injured are foreigners — four women and three men,” Sutthichai told the
Bangkok Post.
On Friday morning Thai authorities confirmed that another person died
in a two new blasts in Hua Hin, four people were injured, the
Associated Press reports.
Separately, one person was killed and two injured in another double bomb attack Thursday in the city of Surat Thani, the Nationreports.
The first explosion occurred outside the marine police station and the
second half an hour later in front of a police station, Surat Thani’s
police chief Apichart Boonsriroj said. The city is a busy transit point for tourists heading to the popular resort islands of Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan.
There are also reports
of multiple explosions on Friday morning in Phuket, a popular holiday
destination for foreign tourists. At least one person has been injured
in an explosion on Patong Beach, Channel News Asia reports.
Earlier on Thursday a bombing took place in the southern province of Trang, killing one person and injuring six.
About 200 km north in the Phang Nga province, local media has also
reported that a market popular with tourists in Takuapa has been gutted by fire.
The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok has urged its citizens in the country to “maintain a high level of vigilance” and should avoid the affected areas.
Junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has called for calm in the wake of the
bombings. “The bombs are an attempt to create chaos and confusion,” he told reporters. “We should not make people panic more.”
The bombings coincide with the 84th birthday of Thailand’s Queen
Sirikit and come almost exactly one year since a bomb ripped through
Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine on Aug. 17, 2015, killing 17 and injured over 100.
This is a developing story.
No comments