At least one person was killed and 19 wounded in an explosion at a night market in southern Thailand on Monday where Muslim separatists have been waging an insurgency for more than a decade.
The attack comes two months after a wave of coordinated bombings in tourist towns in Thailand’s south that killed four Thais and wounded dozens, including foreigners, attacks the police linked to Muslim militants. Monday’s attack, in the town of Pattani, struck around 7 p.m. (8.00 a.m. ET), police said, reports Reuters.
“The bomb was placed near a noodle stall and the explosion killed one woman. We are currently investigating and securing the site,” Pakpoom Jantarangsee, a police officer investigating, told Reuters.
More than 6,500 people have been killed in the insurgency in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces – Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat – over the past 12 years. The region borders Malaysia and is Muslim-majority while the rest of Thailand is predominantly Buddhist.
Talks with insurgent groups began under the civilian government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2013 but have stalled since a military coup in May 2014.
Talks hosted by Malaysia in September failed to reach any breakthrough. Insurgents there denied responsibility for the tourist resort attacks in August.
Thailand has proposed building a wall along the 640-km (400-mile) border to stop insurgents using Malaysia as a base to plan operations and hide out between attacks.
