Bangkok Bomb Blasts

[TBWG]

Bomb blast in Bangkok wounds three people:

BANGKOK (AFP) -- A small bomb hidden in a rubbish bin exploded in a residential area of Bangkok on Friday wounding three people, the latest in a series of blasts to rattle the Thai capital, police said.

"The explosion occurred around 5:00 pm (1000 GMT) today," said Police Lieutenant Colonel Sompol Phantapiban, confirming the incident was caused by a bomb in the city's southeast.

"The bomb was placed in a rubbish bin in front of shophouses," he added.

He told AFP that three people suffered minor injuries and had been taken to a local hospital, while the police were still investigating the cause of the attack.

A series of grenade blasts have hit Bangkok in recent weeks, as the capital remains under emergency rule following mass "Red Shirt" protests in April and May that left 91 people dead in clashes between troops and demonstrators.

The Reds -- who held peaceful gatherings Sunday to mark the anniversary of the 2006 coup that ousted their hero Thaksin Shinawatra as premier -- deny any involvement in the blasts.

Earlier this month, police defused three unexploded bombs discovered in Bangkok and surrounding suburbs over a matter of hours, one of them in front of a school and one in a shopping mall.

The finds raised further doubts over the speed at which emergency rule can be lifted in the Thai capital and prompted opposition accusations of a government conspiracy in an attempt to justify greater powers for authorities.

The unexploded bombs followed five grenade blasts in previous weeks which left one dead and 13 injured and unnerved Bangkok residents still recovering from the political unrest.


TBWG