Seven police officers and one civilian were wounded in two bomb attacks in Yala on Saturday.
The explosions took place just three days before the 11th anniversary of the Krue Sae mosque massacre, one of the deadliest events in the troubled history of the southern border provinces.
The first attack took place around 11am Saturday at kilometre maker 32 on Highway 410 in tambon Aiyaweng in Betong district, said police. The bomb exploded as a police patrol team in a pickup truck passed the spot, wounding five officers and one civilian nearby. They were all taken to a nearby hospital.
Less than two hours later, another bomb went off at kilometre makers 65-66 on the same road in nearby Than To district, slightly injuring two police bomb disposal officers en route to investigate the first blast.
The bomb exploded when four vans carrying bomb disposal officers drove past the site. One of the vehicles were damaged.
Police said that an unknown number of assailants had hidden in a roadside bush and triggered the explosion when the vehicles arrived.
The two injured officers — Pol Lt Col Peerasak Lodkaew, head of the bomb disposal team and Pol Sr Sgt Maj Natthapol Suwannathong — were sent to Than To Hospital.
The incidents took place after authorities ordered security measures stepped up in the region in anticipation of possible retaliatory attacks linked to the Krue Sae anniversary.
On April 28, 2004, militants with stolen weapons barricaded themselves inside the Krue Sae mosque, having fled there following an unsuccessful attempt to ambush security forces.
The commander of a local army unit, defying an order from his superior to try to end the standoff peacefully, ordered troops to retake the mosque. The operation killed all 32 insurgents and extensively damaged the 300-year-old site.