4 killed as bombings rock Thailand

A string of bomb attacks hit popular tourist towns across Thailand, leaving four dead and many wounded, with authorities on Friday ruling out terrorism despite suspicions insurgents in the kingdom’s deep south are responsible.

In the normally peaceful resort town of Hua Hin, blood-spattered tourists were treated by rescue workers as forensic teams picked through the rubble, with the police scrambling to reassure visitors the situation was under control.

“This is not a terrorist attack. It is just local sabotage that is restricted to limited areas and provinces,” national police deputy spokesman Piyapan Pingmuang said in Bangkok.

No one has claimed responsibility for the 11 bombings, and the seemingly coordinated attack across five provinces does not match common patterns of violence in the turbulent nation which is currently under military rule.

Analysts said Muslim insurgent groups could be responsible, but that the targeting of tourists far from their stronghold would be an unprecedented escalation in a simmering conflict largely contained to the southern border region. Some observers said that anti-junta forces could be plotting to discredit the regime, which has staked its reputation on bringing stability to the kingdom after a decade of unrest.

“The bombs are an attempt to create chaos and confusion,” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters as he called for calm.

Britain and Australia reacted by advising their nationals to avoid public places.

Royal retreat Worst-hit was the upscale resort of Hua Hin which was rocked by two sets of twin bombs in the past 24 hours — one pair on Thursday night and the second on Friday morning. Two people were killed and more than 20 wounded, including foreigners. Two more blasts struck Friday at Patong beach on the popular tourist island of Phuket while three more were reported further south — two in the southern town of Surat Thani, killing one, and one more blast in Trang, which also left one person dead.

A Thai police spokesman said a total of 10 foreign tourists were wounded, including two Italians and one Austrian. Embassies in Bangkok said four Dutch and three Germans were also among the wounded. “It was very shocking. There was a loud noise and police were running everywhere, it was terrible,” said Michael Edwards, an Australian tourist staying in a guest house in Hua Hin close to where one of bombs detonated. “I was just surprised that it happened here... now I’m thinking if it’s worth staying,” he said.