Three deadly bomb blasts hit Yala in southern Thailand

Muslim separatists blamed for co-ordinated explosions that have killed at least eight in main shopping area of the city
Thai rescue workers remove a body after a bomb blast in southern Thailand's Yala province
Thai rescue workers remove a body after a bomb blast in Yala, southern Thailand. Photograph: Surapan Boonthanom/Reuters
At least eight people have been killed and 68 wounded in co-ordinated bomb attacks by suspected Muslim insurgents in the main shopping area of a city in southern Thailand.
The casualties made it one of the largest attacks in months in the troubled southern provinces where smaller-scale violence occurs on an almost daily basis.
Three blasts occurred minutes apart within a 100m radius in Yala, a main commercial hub of Thailand's restive southern provinces.
"We are not sure which group of suspected Muslim insurgents were behind this but we are looking," said Yala Governor Dethrat Simsiri.
The first bomb was hidden inside a motorcycle parked near a shopping area and detonated by a mobile phone at about noon, the governor said.
Within minutes, a second bomb hidden in another motorcycle exploded, followed by a third explosion from a device placed in a car that set fire to nearby buildings, he said.
Such bombings are a common tactic of Islamist separatists who have been waging an insurgency in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since early 2004. The violence has claimed more than 5,000 lives.
The suspected insurgents mainly target soldiers, police and other symbols of authority with roadside bombs and drive-by shootings, but have also staged large co-ordinated attacks in commercial areas.
Last September, three bombs hidden in vehicles hit a busy section of Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat province, killing four people and leaving more than 60 wounded.
Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani are the only Muslim-dominated provinces in the predominantly Buddhist country. Muslims in the area have long complained of discrimination by the central government.
The insurgents have made no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state. The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/31/thailand-bomb-blasts-yala?newsfeed=true

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