Four people were injured after a series of bomb attacks targeted fuel stations in southern Thailand, the Thai army said on Sunday, highlighting ongoing security concerns in the restive region.
In a statement, the military said multiple explosive devices detonated within a 40-minute period shortly after midnight, setting fire to at least 11 petrol stations across the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, areas long affected by an armed insurgency.
Narathiwat Governor Ponchai Homiamin told local media that an unidentified group of men carried out the attacks, damaging fuel pumps and infrastructure. He confirmed that a police officer was wounded in the province.
According to the army, a firefighter and two petrol station employees were also injured in Pattani. A Thai military spokesperson told Agence France-Presse that all those injured were taken to hospital and that their injuries were not life-threatening.
No arrests have been announced, and authorities have not identified those responsible for the coordinated attacks.
Thailand’s southern border provinces have faced a separatist insurgency since 2004, mainly in Muslim-majority areas near the border with Malaysia. The conflict has claimed thousands of lives, the majority of them civilians.
Following the attacks, the commander of Thailand’s southern armed forces, Narathip Phuenok, said security measures had been raised to the highest level, particularly at checkpoints and border crossings.
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