Posted on 12/23/2004 9:35:16 PM PST by Straight Vermonter
At least one person has been killed and several wounded after a bomb exploded in a restive area of southern Thailand. The blast happened at a Siam Commercial Bank branch in Sungai Kolok, a town in Narathiwat province on the border with Malaysia, said police.
The town, which is popular with Malaysian tourists, has been the scene of other explosions in the past.
Narathiwat is one of three mainly-Muslim southern provinces at the centre of an Islamic separatist insurgency.
"One man died and six were wounded, including one in critical condition with chest wounds," Wichai Wichianwattanachai, a doctor at Sungai Kolok's main hospital, was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
Police said the bomb was planted in a motorcycle parked in front of a cash machine beside the bank, exploding at 0900 (0200 GMT).
A blast at a bar in the town in October killed two people, including a Malaysian tourist, and wounded 20.
Teachers' strike
More than 550 people have been killed so far this year in the region as violence has increased between the country's minority Muslim community and the authorities.
Tensions rose dramatically after 85 Muslim protesters were killed in October when the army tried to stop their demonstration.
Seven were shot and 78 suffocated or were crushed to death when they were loaded into army trucks.
A government-backed inquiry into the incident found that the deaths were not deliberate.
But Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra admitted the panel found that some senior officials failed to do their jobs, and left it to subordinates to handle the protest's outcome.
Thousands of teachers in the south went on strike on Thursday, urging the authorities to do more to protect them from attacks by Muslim militants.
They said they were perceived by the rebels to be representatives of the Buddhist-dominated administration.
so much for the Oragami Drop.....
Shouldn't this be posted in BREAKIN NEWS? One person! WOW. This will make the front page of every major paper. Not just in the US but in the world!
Would there be this kind of fighting and terrorism and bombing if it weren't for Muslims? I know some say that "Protestants" and "Catholics" fought/fight in Ireland, but I see that more as an "independence" thing (like in Spain).
But doesn't it just seem that Muslims always seem to be linked to these kinds of things? Hello?
Not to worry. Use the article to mark your scorecard. With continuing rounds of terrorist attacks sure to come, the body count will continue to mount. The Thais, and not only the teachers, are bracing for much more to come.
Hello...world! The "religion of peace" is a problem.
Sorry, I was busy shouting... ;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.