Explosions shake southern Thailand ahead of former PM Thaksin’s visit
Bomb blasts hit Thailand’s southern provinces just before former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s visit on Sunday.
Security officials examine the bombing site in Bannang Sata district, Yala on February 23. Photo courtesy of Bangkokpost.
In Yala province, a civilian was killed and 11 others injured, including seven police officers, when a bomb exploded outside a supermarket in Bannang Sata district on the night of Saturday.
The blast occurred on Highway 10 in front of a Mini BigC store in Moo 2 village as the officers were patrolling the area. Bomb experts determined that the explosive device, packed with steel shrapnel, had been hidden inside a fire extinguisher. The explosion also damaged several vehicles.
In Narathiwat province, another bomb went off on a firefighters' pickup truck parked near the air traffic control tower at Narathiwat airport on the morning of Sunday.
The explosion, which happened at 8:50 a.m, about an hour before Thaksin’s scheduled arrival, injured four airport security guards. Officials swiftly moved all suspicious vehicles away from the airport before his landing.
Thaksin arrived in Narathiwat along with Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong. This marks his first visit to the deep South in nearly two decades. Following his Narathiwat stop, Thaksin was also scheduled to visit neighbouring Pattani and Yala provinces.
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