Junta rules out link between latest bombings in southern Thailand and earlier deadly attacks

The explosions occurred late Tuesday outside the Southern Hotel in Pattani, one of the biggest towns in a region where Muslim separatists have waged an insurgency since 2004 that has left more than 6,000 people dead

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Thai bomb squad officers examine the wreckage of a car after an explosion outside a hotel in Pattani province, southern Thailand. Photo: AP

Published: 1:51pm, 24 Aug 2016Updated: 9:31pm, 24 Aug 2016

Thailand’s military government said on Wednesday there was no connection between two bombings overnight that killed one person in the southern town of Pattani and a wave of deadly attacks on popular tourist spots in the south this month.

One Thai person was killed and 30 wounded when two bombs exploded late on Tuesday at the Southern View Hotel in the coastal town of Pattani, less than two weeks after a wave of as yet unexplained bombings hit seven provinces in the south.

No group has claimed responsibility for those bombings, which killed four and wounded dozens, including foreign tourists. Some security experts noted at the time that southern insurgent groups have a track record of carrying out coordinated bombing attacks.

General view of damage after a blast outside a hotel in the southern province of Pattani, Thailand. Photo: Reuters

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan however quickly ruled out any link between those attacks and the twin bombs in Pattani.

“I am sure that the incident in Pattani last night has nothing to do with the seven provinces attacks,” Prawit told reporters at Bangkok’s Government House, without giving any further details.