Muslim militants fighting for a separate state in the south of predominantly Buddhist Thailand were suspected of carrying out a car-bomb attack on Tuesday outside a supermarket in the city of Pattani that wounded 60 people, authorities said.
Most of the wounded were discharged after receiving treatment but 21 with more serious injuries were hospitalized, Arun Prasertsuk, deputy director of Pattani Hospital told a local television channel.
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The blast destroyed the front of a Big-C supermarket, scattering debris over a wide area and sending up a column of black smoke.
Muslim insurgents were suspected of carrying out the attack, deputy police chief Rewat Srichantub said, adding the bomber was believed to have fled before the explosion. It was the first car bomb in Pattani since August.
Attacks in Thailand’s deep south, near the border with Muslim-majority Malaysia, have intensified this year. Six army rangers were killed in an attack last month. The government recently rejected a conditional offer for peace talks from one of the main insurgent groups, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, which demanded international mediation or observation.
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