One killed, dozens hurt as bombs hit 22 banks in Thai Muslim south

THAILAND: Suspected Islamic militants staged near-simultaneous bombings at 22 banks in the mainly Muslim province of Yala early Thursday, killing at least one and injuring dozens, Thai officials said.

A former soldier was killed while at least 40 people were hurt when the bombs exploded inside the banks, police said.

The military immediately ordered all banks in the province to close, said Major General Somkuan Saengpattaranetr, spokesman for the southern army regional command.Ten of the bombs exploded at banks in Yala provincial town, and the rest in outlying areas of the province, police said.

Yala is one of three provinces that have been wracked by Islamic separatist violence and other unrest for more than two years.

The blasts came as some 5,000 Muslims gathered to pray for peace early Thursday at a school in Yala, which has seen a surge in attacks over the last month.

Two Muslim men were shot dead in Yala province during the night, police added.

Most of the attacks in the region along the southern border with Malaysia are small bombings or drive-by shootings.

But during the last three months, militants have shown themselves capable of conducting well-coordinated attacks that seemed designed to intimidate rather than kill. On August 2, militants staged nearly 100 coordinated bomb and arson attacks that injured three people.

On June 15, they bombed 46 police, government and business targets, killing two people and wounding at least 21.

The three provinces along the Malaysian border were an ethnic Malay sultanate until Buddhist Thailand annexed them a century ago, and separatist unrest has simmered ever since.More than 1,400 people have been killed in the mainly Muslim provinces since the latest violence erupted in January 2004.

yala, Thursday, AFP