Two bombs went off Tuesday in Hat Yai, the biggest city in the South, wounding at least 10 people in the first attack on the tourist centre this year.
Photos by Vichayant Boonchote and Twitter's @spywarey, @Chu_SpringNews and @Nalinee_PLE
Pol Col Passakorn Klanwan, the Hat Yai police chief, said two of the wounded were police, while the rest were civilian bystanders. At least 35 vehicles were damaged by the explosions.
No one claimed responsibility for the bombs. Similar attacks in the past have been traced to the gangs of southern separatists operating in the four southernmost provinces including Songkhla, where Hat Yai is located.
The first bomb was on a motorcycle. It exploded at about 2pm in front of a 7-Eleven store opposite a technology college on Polpichai road.
That blast wounded seven people, who happened to be passing by. They were all taken to Hat Yai Hospital, where they were identified as Tinrat Supapolkulnant, 18, Ms Pakakul Konthiang, 20, Ms Achariya Wongsri, 19, Wongsakul Kaewmanee, 25, Ms Wannaporn Klaiduang, Wuthichai Hatchaboon, 38, and Sak Prakobsuk, 53.
The blast also damaged about five other motorcycles which had parked beside the one with the bomb aboard.
About 10 minutes later and two kilometres away, a second bomb exploded, much larger than the first and believed to be a car bomb. It went off in the temporary parking area for impounded vehicles alongside the main Hat Yat police station, near a police apartment. Five fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze started by this large bomb.
The second blast wounded two policemen standing near the impound compound, and a woman. They were identified as Pol Sub Lt Chanchai Sangkhachart, 59, Pol Sub Lt Somchai Suwankij, 39, and Mrs Tipmanee Rattananil, 45. They were also taken to Hat Yai Hospital.
About 30 vehicles were damaged in the parking area, most of them cars or pickup trucks.
Of the 10 wounded, six were treated and released. Four were kept overnight for observation, but hospital officials said they were not in danger.
The video clip above, uploaded by YouTube user by Santiphab Ramasut, shows the damage caused by Tuesday's bombings in Hat Yai.