'Double tap' Pattani bombs kill one, wound 30

'Double tap' Pattani bombs kill one, wound 30

Image of the bomb scene as tweeted by Thai News Agency via its account @TNAMCOT.
Image of the bomb scene as tweeted by Thai News Agency via its account @TNAMCOT.

A pair of bombs set off near each other killed a woman and wounded 29 people late Tuesday in the main town of Pattani province in the deep South.

Thai-language media reports from Pattani said the bombs were detonated 20 minutes apart.

This so-called double tap is an increasingly common tactic by southern insurgents, with the aim of causing maximum casualties with the second bomb among those who respond to the first.

The bloody tactic worked on Tuesday.

Thai media reported that the first blast at 10.40pm near a pub and karaoke caused no casualties. Then, a second blast caused by a huge bomb in a parked pickup truck exploded at 11pm, and wounded 30 security officers and bystanders. The injured included two girls, 21 women and seven men.

One of the victims died of her wounds overnight. Authorities identified her as Oraphan Sriuenhat, 35, caught in the second blast from the vehicle bomb. She was working at a food shop in front of the targeted hotel when the second bomb went off.

Both bombs went off and burst into flames in a parking lot behind the pub.

The car bomb shattered windows in a wide circle in the heavily populated area. Shops, homes and the 100-room, eight-story Southern View Hotel all suffered damage.

"More than 10" cars and motorcycles parked in the area were also damaged by the blast, authorities told Thai reporters on the scene.

It was unclear whether the bombs were set off by timers or electrical signal.

The Thai News Agency tweeted information and a link.

The image of the blast at Southern View Hotel. (Photo supplied by Abdulloh Benjakat)

The entrance of Southern View Hotel after the bomb. (Photo by Abdulloh Benjakat)

The damages of shop houses surrounded by the hotel. (Photo by Abdulloh Benjakat)

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