3 dead, 35 injured after explosions rock Thailand

By Max Constant and CS Thana

BANGKOK (AA) - A series of bomb blasts shook four cities in southern Thailand overnight as the country prepared to celebrate the birthday of its queen, killing at least three people and injuring around 35.

An insurgency in the country's Muslim south has wracked border areas with Malaysia for decades, but insurgents have rarely troubled areas as north as some of the areas struck.

Initial blasts struck the southern province of Trang close to Malaysia late Thursday, with subsequent explosions shaking the resort city of Hua Hin (at 200 kilometers away, the closest of the targets to Bangkok), the large city of Surat Thani (again in the deep south), the tourist island of Phuket and then Hua Hin again.

Talking to reporters, junta chief-cum-Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha said he did not want to speculate on who was responsible.

"We have to focus on restoring calm, peace and restoring confidence."

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan underlined that the perpetrators wanted to do little than create disunity, and damage the name of the country.

"We don't know if it is politically motivated but we will catch them," he added.

All of the attacks shared the same profile, said Army Gen. Danai Kritmethavee at an an event to commemorate the life of the queen -- also Mothers' Day in the country.

The two latest blasts occurred in Hua Hin around 9 a.m. (0200GMT) Friday near its clock tower. They exploded simultaneously, and, according to pictures broadcast a few minutes after the explosions by local TV channel Nation TV, four people were injured.

One hour earlier, two bomb explosions took place in Surat Thani (650 kilometers away from the capital), killing one person and injuring at least four, just after a ceremony in the city center to pay homage to the queen.

The first bomb exploded in front of a police station and the second 30 minutes later in the same area, said Nation TV.

Another blast occurred Friday morning near Patong beach on Phuket (847 kilometers south of Bangkok) in which one person was injured.

Late Thursday evening, two bombs exploded within 20 minutes of each other in the tourist resort of Hua Hin, killing at least one person -- a local street food seller -- and injuring 22, including 10 foreigners.

Gen. Danai Krotmetawi, a military commander in Hua Hin, told Nation TV that two suspects were being interrogated.

"The two bombs were detonated remotely by mobile phone," he told the channel.

Police Commander Kasana Jamswang of Prachuap Kiri Khan Province Police had told reporters earlier that one person was killed while four others remained in a critical condition.

"We're not prepared to speculate on the motives of these attacks," said Jamswang. "But we have sent in EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] teams to investigate and ask that all entertainment facilities be shut down.”

Edwin Wiek, a Hua Hin resident who was at the scene of the attack, told Anadolu Agency by phone that at least four foreign nationals were among those injured.

"I have lived here for over 20 years and have never seen anything like this," Wiek said.

The attack was preceded by the attack on Trang, 840 kilometers south of Bangkok, in which five people were injured and one later died.

Police have asked locals to shelter in place or return home if they are near their places of residence.

The attacks also occur less than a week after a junta-backed constitution was approved by a referendum, increasing military influence in the political process following a 2014 coup.