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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Sunday 17 September 2006 :-
Series of bombs rock Hat Yai
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Four killed, 70 injured as militants set off six explosions at hotels, shopping areas in the heart of town
Hat Yai, the main commercial and tourist centre in the South, was hit by a series of bomb blasts last night, killing four and injuring at least 70 people.
The first of the six bombs went off at around 9pm and the other five exploded about five minutes apart.
The explosions occurred in front of the Big C department store on Lop Buri Ramate road, Lee Gardens Hotel on Sanehanusorn road, Monkey Pub on Thammanoonvithee road, Odean Shopping Mall on Niphat Uthit road, in a cinema toilet near the Diana department store on Sripoovanart road and the sixth one also on Thammanoonvithee road.
The injured were rushed to the Prince of Songkhla and Rajyindee hospitals, and only about five were said to be in serious condition.
Most of the bombs were planted in areas popular with tourists.
Authorities said the bombs were planted on parked motorcycles and all mobile phone signals were ordered cut off after the blasts to prevent more attacks.
Rueseeda Kinsa, a shop owner near the Odean Shopping Mall, said she saw panic-stricken tourists and locals running in all directions after the blast.
The explosions were likely being used by the militants to mark the anniversary of the creation of the Gerakan Mujahidin Pattani insurgent movement and to protest the state-organised ''Peace Project'' gathering in Yala. No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts.
A security official said the bombs were planted to publicise the GMP and Hat Yai was selected because it was a key city in the South. Security measures had been stepped up over the past week in only the three southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
The Fourth Army refused to say who was responsible for the attacks, or whether it was linked to the Muslim militants. It only said that its bomb disposal units were assisting the local police in clearing the scenes of the blasts and would only offer comments when more evidence was in hand.
A source at the Supreme Command said soldiers were sent to the Kuan Lung area near Hat Yai to round up 12 suspects believed to be linked to the insurgency in the restive South and to yesterday's bombings.
The last time the city was hit by explosions was on April 3 last year, when the Hat Yai airport was bombed.
In Yala yesterday, about 1,500 young Thai Muslims, including former separatist leaders and their supporters, turned out to attend yesterday's ''Peace Project'' gathering in a bid to help end the southern insurgency.
But their number was well below expectations, as officers had hoped to see twice the number. Around 3,000 young Muslims live around the Yala Central Mosque, the conference venue.
The group only gave the officers a list of 3,000 people willing to help the government handle the insurgency.
''It is the greatest gathering of Thai Muslims ever held, though the number still fell short of target,'' a source said.
On the list are 40 separatist leaders and their 500 supporters, who once fled to Malaysia before returning to Thailand to hide in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
Many were young ustazes, or Islamic school teachers, who agreed to help battle the insurgency, which gathered pace two years ago when insurgents attacked a military camp in Narathiwat.
Meanwhile, in Narathiwat's Rueso district, former village head Abduloh Samoh, 44, was shot by gunmen in his house yesterday. He died later at hospital.
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Posted on: 7:33 pm on Sep. 16, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from The Nation dated Sunday 17 September 2006 :-
Six blasts rock Hat Yai : Two foreigners among five killed in attacks on hotel, department stores
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Five people were killed and about 60 injured in a series of six explosions in Hat Yai's business centre last night. The blasts went off at two shopping malls, one of the city's biggest hotels and three other locations.
Witnesses said the bombs went off at roughly five-minute intervals starting at around 9pm, when the area was crowded with tourists and locals going out to dine and for night entertainment.
Two of the dead were foreigners - one Chinese and one Westerner. The injured were sent to nearby hospitals including Raj Yindee Hospital, Krungthep-Hadyai Hospital and Songkhla Nakharin Hospital.
The first bomb to go off was on Thammanoon Withi Road, at the entrance to a pub called Deep Wonder in the basement of the Odean Shopping Mall. The second bomb went off at a junction a few hundred metres down the road, and the third one another few hundred metres on.
The fourth bomb went off in front of the Lee Garden Hotel, destroying tuk-tuks parked there.
The fifth explosion was at the Big C Supercentre and the last was in a restroom of a movie theatre on the fifth floor of Diana Shopping Centre.
The bombs damaged a numbers of cars and motorcycles in the vicinity.
Police said each blast had a radius of 20 metres and that they had found pieces of metal suspected to be part of the bombs.
Officials believe the bomb at the Odean Shopping Mall was planted inside a motorcycle and detonated by mobile phone. Soon after the explosions, all unattended motorcycles nearby were moved away and people were evacuated from the area for fear of more explosions.
Thammanoonwithi Road is one of the most crowded roads in Hat Yai City, with more than 10 hotels along its length. More than 1,000 tourists, both Thais and foreigners, were checked in at the hotels. All were evacuated.
Senior Police Officer Ongkorn Thongprasom said police had received reports that such bomb attacks were likely between September 16 and 20.
"After this bombing, we have to seriously discuss security measures for the area. For sure, the impact on tourism will be large," he said.
Just two weeks ago, intelligence officials predicted stronger, more vigorous attacks by militants in the deep South between September 16 and 20 since this is the week to celebrate the setting up of the Pattani Islamic Mujahideen and Pattani State.
Srisompob Jitpiromsri, an academic who studies trends in the insurgency, said after a spate of bombings in Yala two weeks ago that the insurgents would continue to "show their force" through more coordinated, simultaneous attacks.
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Posted on: 7:39 pm on Sep. 16, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Sunday 17 September 2006 :-
Extremists spread war into Hat Yai
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Thailand went to bed on Saturday night to shocking scenes of terrorist attacks in the biggest city in the South.
TV news showed images of bloodied victims lying in restaurants or being led to safety by rescue personnel. Vehicles burned in streets strewn with shattered glass and overturned tables and chairs.
To a country already used to daily news reports of insurgent attacks and a rising death toll, the simultaenous attacks on the region's biggest tourist and shopping area came as a shock. It was only the second time that self-styled Muslim insurgents in the region had pushed their battle out of their own three stronghold provinces.
One body was shown to TV viewers, covered with a white sheet next to an overturned motorcycle. Dozens of other motorcycles and larger vehicles also appeared to be destroyed.
Security forces cordoned off the areas around the blast sites and jammed mobile phone transmissions, late as usual.
The bombs planted on motorbikes around the Odean Shopping Mall were triggered simultaneously at 9:15 p.m. local time last (Saturday) evening, in the Hat Yai business district, Pol Col Pattanawut Angkanawin said.
Two bombs exploded in front of a pub and car park at the Odean Shopping Mall and a third bomb exploded at a nearby massage parlour. A fourth bomb exploded in a Big C department store and another at restroom of the Diana Department Stores.
Hat Yai is in Songkhla province, but the city is not included in the martial law-like decree the government has clamped on parts of the province as well as the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.
Only once before, in April of last year, had the insurgents ventured into Hat Yai, with simultaneous bombs at the city's international airport, a hotel and a department store.
But the insurgency which has killed well over 1,400 since January, 2004, has been basically limited to the three southern-most provinces with borders on Malaysia.
"We do believe that the insurgents are responsible for the bombs attacked," military spokesman Lt-Gen Palangoon Klaharn said. "Their intention is to spread fear in the region."
They might succeed. While it remains to be seen, the bombing wave, conducted just hours after the army commander placed troops on red alert throughout the troubled region, could seriously set back political confidence and deal major harm to the southern tourist trade.
The blasts also occurred the same day that the military sponsored a peace meeting in Yala which gathered some 1,000 villagers in the South, in a bid to end the violence.
Army Commander Sonthi Boonyaratkalin confirmed yesterday that he ahd ordered a red alert for all military in the South from Saturday through Wednesday. He said there were reports of possible attacks by the Gerakan Mujahidin Islam Pattani (GMIP), an offshoot of the southern militant group Gerakan Mujahidin Pattani (GMP), to mark its anniversary.
Extremists in recent weeks have been more brazen with their attacks and shown an ability to launch coordinated attacks that hit at the region's economy. On Aug 31, they launched a series of daylight attacks against 22 banks in Yala province, killing one person, injuring another 30 and forcing the temporary closure of many financial institutions.
Hat Yai is the second most popular foreign destination for Malaysian tourists, after Singapore. It is the southern rail hub, and Thailand's biggest city in the southern region with a population of more than half a million. The city also is the second most popular tourist destination in the far South after Phuket, which is on the opposite coast of the Thai southern peninsula.
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Posted on: 7:42 pm on Sep. 16, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from The Nation dated Sunday 17 September 2006 :-
Names of hospitals providing care for people injured by Hat Yai bomb blasts
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Following are the lists of hospitals where people injured in Hat Yai bomb blats have been admitted:
Songkhla Nakharin Hospital: 30 people
Raj Yindee Hat Yai Hospital: 15 people
Hat Yai Hospital: 16 people
Sikhirin Hat Yai Hospita: 2 people
Bangkok Hat Yai Hospital: 2 people
Crown Prince to visit Hat Yai bomb bictims
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His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will visit Songkhla Sunday evening to visit those injured in Hat Yai bomb blasts, the provincial governor said.
Governor Somporn Chaibangyang said the Crown Prince would also be briefed on the bomb attacks which happened Saturday night.
Slain Canadian in Hat Yai identified as Daniel
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TV reports say a Canadian, who was killed in the Hat Yai bomb attacks Saturday night, was identified as Daniel.
No further information on his surname and the city where he came from.
He was among five people killed by a series of bomb blasts in Hat Yai Saturday night.
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Posted on: 11:50 pm on Sep. 16, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Sunday 17 September 2006 :-
Hat Yai blasts send tourists home
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Songkhla : Tourism will definitely be impacted in Hat Yai district of this southern province, a popular holiday and shopping destination among tourists from Thailand's neighbouring countries of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and as far distant as Brunei, following Saturday night's bomb blasts which rocked five prime locations, all of them in the business area.
Local business leaders are expecting revenue to fall in the wake of tourists going home--and deciding to go elsewhere--after the blasts.
The powerful explosions killed three Thais and a resident Canadian teacher, and wounded 59 others, according to local police. The victims were sent to nearby hospitals for treatment.
The general atmosphere in Hat Yai Sunday morning was quite and subdued as many Malaysian tourists who came to this city for weekend holidays were seen to be checking out from their hotels and returning home.
Songkhla Hotel Association president Somchart Pimtanapoonporn said the incidents would immediately have an impact on tourism as about 80 per cent of hotel rooms in the district were occupied by tourists.
And as tourists gradually checked out from their hotels early this morning and decided to return home out of concern for their safety, it is expected that tourism activities in the district will be affected for not less than three months, Mr Somchart said.
Many tourists were expected to visit Hat Yai and nearby areas during the annual Chinese vegetarian festival and the fasting month of Ramadan for Muslims late next month.
Saturday's incidents will cause the city to lose several hundred million baht, Mr Somchart said.
Hat Yai, 45 kilometres from the Thai-Malaysian border was last hit by explosions on April 3 last year, when bombs were exploded at the international airport.
The airport bombing caused tourists to stay away from the town on fears of safety.
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Posted on: 5:03 am on Sep. 17, 2006
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Oldtimer
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Bangkok Post doesn't mention that a Canadian was killed; but this apparently is front page news in parts of Canada...something which unfortunately may more generally impact tourism.
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Posted on: 5:32 am on Sep. 17, 2006
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Tyfon
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The killing of a Farang tourist was going to happen sooner or later with the indiscriminate nature of bombs and targetting of western-style shopping areas. Whether it was at all intended by the bombers it will have the effect of bringing additional foreign pressure on the Government, who will undoubtedly respond with more troops, but also may represent a crossing of the Rubicon for the insurgents, opening the floodgates to deliberately target tourism further north.
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Posted on: 9:51 am on Sep. 17, 2006
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DaffyDuck
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I will maintain that the South is simply a region that a tourist need not visit - and that should the 'insurgents' try to expand their operations to more northern targets (Phuket, or even Bangkok), it will decisively be the end of their insurgency, and result in a huge backlash from Thais against all Muslim.
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Posted on: 10:39 am on Sep. 17, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Never rule out the fact that the Muslim terrorists might attempt to bomb Phuket, Bangkok and Pattaya to 'scare' off tourists from visiting Thailand to to hurt its economy.
To the terrorists it doesn't matter how many people are killed or hurt by their bombs but the very act of bombing will definitely put a very deep fear in potential tourists and make them avoid going to Thailand
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Posted on: 9:05 pm on Sep. 17, 2006
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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Monday 18 September 2006 :-
Bombs a blow to Hatyai tourism industry : Most visitors desert Hat Yai after blasts
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Hat Yai- The bombs in the heart of Hat Yai district in Songkhla on Saturday have dealt a blow to the tourism industry, as most tourists immediately deserted the city and more cancelled plans to visit during festivals next month.
The immediate departure of foreign tourists, mostly Malaysians, started just after the series of bomb blasts.
"Those who arrived in their own cars drove back immediately. Others waited for transport in the morning and afternoon," said Nit Sawanitjamnian, owner of Chang Travel company, located on Sanehanusorn road near a bomb site.
"All buses between Hat Yai and Kuala Lumpur are fully booked today," she added, saying she expected that all tourists would have left by today.
The explosions happened as hundreds of people were shopping on the street.
Hat Yai was about to welcome many tourists next month for the Indian New Year holidays ( Deepavali ) and the annual Harir Rya Muslim festival at the end of the fasting period.
However, most reservations for tour packages next month were cancelled yesterday, Ms Nit said.
Chantra Longji, a 36-year-old tour guide, said the bombs were the harshest she had experienced during her seven years in Hat Yai.
The bombs went off in tourist areas which were full of shops and restaurants. Ms Chantra is planning to move to Phuket to be a tourist guide, as she thinks the tourism business in Hat Yai is over.
Chin YiBKhong, a 40-year-old Malaysian tourist who visits Hat Yai every weekend to see his girlfriend, said he left Hat Yai yesterday as his friends did not want to stay.
He would think twice about whether to return.
Withaya Lim, another tour guide in Hat Yai, said safety was a key factor for visitors and the impact on tourism would be inevitable because visitors would no longer feel confident about their safety.
"Those five or six bombs right at the heart of the city have killed the tourism business. I know I am losing my job," he said.
Somchart Pimthanapoonporn, president of the Hat Yai-Songkhla Hotels Association, said local hotels were 80% occupied with 7,000 visitors when the bombs went off.
He expects the immediate impact to last at least three months and that local tourism businesses would lose income opportunities worth hundreds of millions of baht.
Songkhla authorities had warned hoteliers of possible attacks in the heart of Hat Yai, Mr Somchart said.
Pornsiri Manoharn, deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said the impact would be great as Hat Yai was a major tourist attraction which welcomed more than 1.3 million Malaysian visitors a year.
TAT had promoted Hat Yai as a holiday destination ahead of the high season.
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Posted on: 9:31 pm on Sep. 17, 2006
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