More than 20 people were injured, four seriously, when a car bomb went off near a hotel in southern Thailand. The explosion happened in front of a hotel in the Sadao district of Songkhla province, an area rarely targeted by Television footage showed a smoke-choked road and charred cars outside the hotel. Two other bombs attached to parked motorcycles struck a police checkpoint and a police station elsewhere in the province with no injuries reported.
Songkhla governor Kritsada Boonrat said, "Something like this has never happened in Sadao district before... this area is a border trade area (with Malaysia)," adding security will be increased.
He said police were checking security camera footage and forensic teams were investigating the three bomb sites, but did not say who he believed was responsible.
Tentative peace talks between the Thai state and representatives of the main militant group have stalled. Another round of talks scheduled for December has been postponed as the Thai government handles massive street protests in Bangkok targeting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut said the culprits may have been linked to the insurgency in the south, and could have been expressing anger that peace talks have faltered while the government concentrates on political turmoil in Bangkok. He added, "A second theory is it was related to the domestic political situation - to discredit the government."
Sources close to the negotiations have raised doubt over whether the peace talks will continue given the political unrest in Bangkok.