Bomb injures 14 in Thai Muslim south
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
YALA, Thailand, Jun 18 (AFP): Fourteen people were wounded today when a bomb exploded inside a busy teashop in Thailand's Muslim- majority south, where a separatist insurgency is raging, police said.
The bomb was planted under a table in the shop in Yala, one of three insurgency-hit provinces bordering Malaysia.
Four men-all in their 30s --- were seriously injured by the blast while another 10 customers were slightly wounded, police said.
Meanwhile two soldiers were injured by a roadside bomb in nearby Narathiwat province, leaving one in critical condition.
The soldiers were part of security detail for local teachers, who were the target of brutal attacks last week, including the shootings of two teachers in front of their students.
About 260 schools in the region had closed following the attacks last week, but about half reopened today.
More than 2,200 people have been killed and thousands more wounded in separatist violence that erupted in the south in January 2004.
The bomb was planted under a table in the shop in Yala, one of three insurgency-hit provinces bordering Malaysia.
Four men-all in their 30s --- were seriously injured by the blast while another 10 customers were slightly wounded, police said.
Meanwhile two soldiers were injured by a roadside bomb in nearby Narathiwat province, leaving one in critical condition.
The soldiers were part of security detail for local teachers, who were the target of brutal attacks last week, including the shootings of two teachers in front of their students.
About 260 schools in the region had closed following the attacks last week, but about half reopened today.
More than 2,200 people have been killed and thousands more wounded in separatist violence that erupted in the south in January 2004.