Explosion in Southern Thailand leaves 1 dead, 30 injured

NARATHIWAT (Thailand), Nov. 22 (Bernama) -- At least one police officer died while 30 others, including civilians, were injured in a car bomb explosion at police headquarters in Narathiwat, southern Thailand, today.

In the incident at about 12.45pm (local time), an explosion was reported in the compound of the police quarters when a homemade bomb was planted in a pickup truck and detonated.

So far, Narathiwat Rajanagarindra Hospital stated that at least 31 people have received treatment at the hospital. This included three people who were seriously injured.

Narathiwat District Police Chief Col. Pol. Jeffrey Salaimankul said the explosion also resulted in damage to the quarters’ building as well as police and civilians’ vehicles.

“This is a car bomb. Preliminary investigation based on closed circuit television (CCTV) footage showed a man driving a pickup truck to a parking lot in the police quarters before leaving on a motorcycle that was waiting on the side.

"The homemade bomb weighing more than 50 kilograms and attached to the gas barrel in the pickup was then detonated," he said at a press conference.

The powerful explosion caused buildings and vehicles parked around the police quarters to catch fire and suffer severe damage.

Police are tracking down the suspects involved and investigating the motive behind the attack.

So far, no party has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, acting government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha had ordered the police and security forces to speed up the investigation.

"The Prime Minister also instructed related agencies to increase security measures in public places," he said.

Inspector General of Police Damrongsak Kittiprapat also went to Narathiwat to monitor and investigate the incident.

Statistics by the independent monitoring group Deep South Watch show an unrelenting cycle of violence in southern Thailand, starting in 2004 in Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla, which has claimed more than 7,000 lives so far.

Negotiations between the government and rebels that began in 2013 to bring peace have been interrupted and stalled several times.

Negotiations between the Thai government and the BRN, the most influential armed group in southern Thailand, began in 2019. It is said to have made concrete and significant progress that brings hope to end violence in Thailand's southern region after a series of meetings.

--BERNAMA