World

Car bomb in Thailand kills one, many hurt

By AAP Newswire

Nov 22, 2022

Thai riot police patrol — At least 29 people were taken to hospital after the blast at a police compound in Narathiwat. (file) -EPA

At least one person was killed when a car bomb exploded inside a police compound in southern Thailand on Tuesday, a police official said.

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"It was a car bomb. We are still clearing the area and the number of injured could increase," said Lieutenant Colonel Niti Suksan, deputy police commissioner of Narathiwat province, adding that one police officer was killed.

At least 29 people were treated at hospital for injuries, among them police officers and civilians, said Pornprasit Jantra, director of the Narathiwat Rajanagarindra hospital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the Tuesday's attack.

Images on social media showed black smoke billowing from a car on fire inside a low-rise compound and police diverting traffic away.Â

Provinces in southern Thailand along the border with Malaysia have seen a decades-long, low-level insurgency, in which the Thai government has battled shadowy groups seeking independence for the predominantly Muslim provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and parts of Songkhla.

Explosions and fires ripped through at least 17 locations in southern Thailand in August, in what appeared to be multiple co-ordinated attacks that injured seven people.

Peace talks that began in 2013 have faced repeated disruptions.