Bombs blasts rock Bangkok on New Year's Eve; 2 dead 12 injured

Sunday, December 31st 2006, 8:28 am

By: News On 6

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ At least six bomb blasts rocked the Thai capital late Sunday, killing at least two people and prompting the city to disperse thousands of people who had gathered to celebrate New Year's Eve.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, which capped a year of unrest in Thailand, including a military coup three months ago and a mounting Muslim insurgency in its southernmost provinces.

National police chief Gen. Ajirawit Suphanaphesat confirmed six explosions on the iTV television network and said authorities were inspecting several more locations where there were suspicious packages. He said the insurgents were probably not behind Sunday's attacks, which injured at least 20 people.

The capital's most spectacular New Year's celebration, at the Central World Plaza shopping mall complex, was canceled and authorities told thousands of celebrants to leave. Hotels stepped up security, searching cars on their premises.

Police Lt. Gen. Chongrak Juranond said one person died at Chulalongkorn hospital. Another police officer, Lt. Col. Teerawit Butsaban, said a second person succumbed to injuries at another hospital.

Dr. Surachet Sathitniramai, a senior health ministry official, said more than 20 people had been hospitalized at four hospitals in Bangkok.

Ajirawit said six people were injured by a bomb in a slum, and four by a bomb near a department store at Victory Monument, a major traffic circle. He said the other blasts were near a police post, where two were injured, and the fourth in a northern suburb.

``I heard a loud explosion and I thought it was fireworks. I ran there and saw a bleeding woman at the bus stop,'' said Somrak Manphothong, a receptionist at the Saxophone bar near the Victory Monument. ``Another guy was lying on the floor covering with blood and his wife was shaking his body.''

The police chief said that ``the situation remains under control.''

Bombings and shootings occur almost daily in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, where an Islamic insurgency that flared in January 2004 has killed more than 1,900 people.

Muslims make up the majority in overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand's deep south, where they have long complained of discrimination. The insurgents are not known to have launched any attacks in Bangkok.

Thailand has also been immersed in political turmoil.

In September, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a bloodless coup by Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin. The military installed Surayud Chulanont as the interim prime minister until elections in October 2007.