Bombs rock S. Thailand, at least 3 dead, scores injured

Bombs exploded Tuesday night in south Thailand's Yala province, leaving at least three people dead and scores injured, media said on Wednesday. Three people have been killed and about 20 injured, three of them in critical condition, from a series of bomb blasts that rocked the city of Yala Tuesday evening on the seventh anniversary of the Tak Bai massacre, the Nation website said. Two of the dead were suspected insurgents, who died from a blast that went off prematurely. The two were transporting the bomb through the Old Market section of Yala's Muang district and appeared to be heading towards the commercial centre of the city, the Nation said. Bombs started to explode one after another at 6:40 p.m. One of the bombs went off near Yala Park View hotel on Ruam Mit road in downtown Yala, Bangkok Post reported. The explosions also destroyed many houses, shops and vehicles, putting the whole of Yala town in the state of chaos, it said. The explosions followed a series of attacks on Monday in the main town of Narathiwat province, south Thailand, which left at least seven people dead, including two soldiers. In Monday's attacks, two rangers were shot at a checkpoint by a group of gunmen dressed as women. Then two nearby supermarkets were bombed, killing five civilians. More than 4,800 people have died in conflict in restive southern Thailand in the past eight years. Last month, more than a dozen suspected insurgents attacked a school in Narathiwat, killing four soldiers and seriously wounding one child.