Triple bomb attack leads to tightened security in southern Thailand

Airline Industry Information, April 4, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

A triple bomb attack on an airport, a hotel and a supermarket in Thailand has reportedly increased fears that the unrest in the far south of the country is spreading.

The attacks, carried out on Sunday night (3 April), have raised concerns, according to the prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Security officials have blamed the attacks on Islamic militants, Reuters reported. No one has yet taken responsibility for the attacks. According to the authorities, the bombs killed two people at the airport and injured up to 74 people.

The attack on the airport, at the departure lounge of Hat Yai international airport, was reportedly the first bomb attack on an airport in Thailand. The airport is located about 1,000 kilometres south of Bangkok, in the Songkhla province. Flights were resumed at the attacked airport today (4 April). The deputy transport minister Phumtham Vechayachai however said that mobile phone signals were randomly turned off to prevent remote-controlled bombs, and security was tightened at other nearby airports as well as at railway stations.

The attacks on Sunday were the first major attacks outside the three most southern provinces of the country, The Associated Press reported.

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