Thailand was hit by a rapid succession of explosions Thursday and Friday in five central and southern provinces. Eleven blasts went off within 18 hours of each other, and eight of them went off within an hour and a half of each other.
At least four people were killed and dozens wounded. Thai police said the bomb blasts are not linked to Islamic terrorism.
The twin sets of explosions happened as tourists flock to Hua Hin for a long weekend celebrated for the birthday of Thailand’s Queen Sririkit, which is also Mother’s Day in Thailand.
Small improvised bombs have been used frequently for attacks during periods of unrest over the past decade of political turmoil in Thailand. However, such attacks have been rare since the military seized power in a May 2014 coup.
One of the bombs exploded in a small lane near a bar at about 10.20 pm (1320 GMT) on Thursday, Hua Hin deputy police chief Samer Yousamran said.
A woman’s shoe lay on the ground amid debris near a damaged street food stall at the scene on Friday, the Reuters witness said.
Samer said the first bomb on Thursday had exploded about 20 minutes earlier around 50 metres (55 yards) away.
Police were investigating and there was no immediate indication of a possible motive, he said. Police also believe both bombs were detonated using mobile phones. Security has been beefed up around Hua Hin and a royal palace in the resort.
Such blasts are common in the three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces of Thailand, where a bloody insurgency has killed more than 6,500 people since 2004. Hua Hin is far from the conflict zone, where attacks typically target security forces and not tourists.
The latest bombings came almost a year after an attack on a Hindu shrine thronged with tourists in central Bangkok killed 20 people and wounded more than 120. Thai police have accused two ethnic Uighur Muslims for the 17 Aug, 2015, attack.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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