Yala: Two powerful bombs detonated by suspected Muslim insurgents killed two paramilitary rangers and wounded nine in separate attacks in southern Thailand on Saturday, police said, the latest unrest in the troubled region bordering Malaysia.
One bomb wounded four rangers who were patrolling in a pickup truck in Yala, one of Thailand`s southernmost provinces that have been plagued by violence since a separatist rebellion resurfaced seven years ago.
A second bomb exploded just 1 km (0.6 mile) from the first attack, killing two rangers and wounding five.
The attacks coincided with a visit by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to the nearby province of Narathiwat to chair a meeting on development strategy for the southern provinces.
The violence has killed more than 4,500 people in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat since a decades-old separatist rebellion against the Thai state resurfaced in January 2004.
The number of attacks has increased in recent months in what security analysts say could be a response to government claims that its public relations campaigns were helping to contain the unrest.
Bureau Report
