Bangkok: Three people were killed and at least 40 injured in two blasts in restive southern Thailand on Friday.
A car bomb exploded in front of a downtown hotel in Muslim majority district Betong district in Yala province bordering Malaysia at 5 PM local time.
The area was crowded with tourists and local residents shopping for food to eat after fasting.
Initial reports said a man and a woman were killed in the attack.
Police said the attackers concealed about 30 kilos of explosives in a white Mazda which had a fake licence plate.
The explosion damaged the hotel building, cars and motorcycles in the area and sparked a fire in a house and a convenience store.
Earlier today, in nearby Narathiwat district, a roadside bomb killed one paramilitary ranger and injured three of his friends
Security authorities said a small cooking gas cylinder stuffed with explosives was detonated with a communication radio when the four paramilitary rangers were riding two motorcycles back from a teacher protection trip to their base camp.
Thailand is a Buddhist-majority country, but the three southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are majority-Muslim and resistance to central government rule has been there for decades, resurfacing with violence in 2004.
More than 5,000 people have died as a result of the insurrection in the south since January 2004.
The opening of peace talks with rebel groups last year has not achieved much to end violence.
