Two bombs exploded in Muslim-majority southern Thailand, police said yesterday, hours after the US, Britain and Australia issued warnings of possible terrorist attacks in the troubled region.
No one was killed or hurt in the Friday night bombings, the first of which was planted in a garbage bin opposite a police station in Narathiwat province's Waeng district and exploded at 6:45 pm, damaging a restaurant.
"It's lucky that nobody was around. We still do not know what type of bomb this was and it is under investigation," Sub-Lieutenant Marut Wongplu said.
The second blast occurred nearly an hour later in Takbai district, near the Malaysian border, at the gate of a complex housing police and customs officials.
The explosions were the latest in a string of violent attacks that have rocked Thailand's deep south since January.
About 60 people have been killed, mainly security personnel and government officials.
Thailand has put itself on high alert ahead of its traditional new year holiday Songkran amid concerns that militants from the south could mount a major attack, a condition which has prompted travel advisories by the US, Britain and Australia.
These countries -- plus Canada, which issued a similar warning on April 1 -- have shared threat intelligence since the bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali which killed more than 200 people in 2002.
"In response to recent incidents of indiscriminate bomb attacks and thefts of explosives, senior Thai officials have warned of the increased threat of terrorist acts, particularly during the extended Songkran holidays," the notice by the US State Department said.
It urged Americans to avoid all "non-essential" travel to the south including Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun and Songkhla provinces.
Britain's Foreign Office updated its travel advice for Thailand on Friday, saying on its Web site that "there is a threat to British and other Western targets from terrorism in Thailand."
It referred to the theft of "a large quantity of explosive material" in southern Thailand last week, and Thai concerns they might be used during the April 10-17 holiday.
It also recalled a March 27 blast outside a bar in the Thai-Malaysian border town of Sungai Kolok, in Narathiwat, which injured at least 28 people.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Friday warned citizens to "exercise extreme caution" in Thai tourist areas, resorts, bars and discos, shopping areas, hotels, places of worship and "buildings associated with foreign governments."
"We continue to receive reports that terrorist elements in the region are planning attacks," the department said.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is under pressure to bring an end to the violence, reportedly played down the advisories but acknowledged the unrest was hurting the kingdom's image as Southeast Asia's tourism hub.
"The warnings are understandable and common," Thaksin said.
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