BREAKING NEWS: Eight Yala banks attacked by bombs

Yala - Muslim militants launched at least eight coordinated bomb attacks at commercial banks in this southern province, possibly killing and injuring many people, police said. The explosions happened nearly at the same time at about 11:30 am, police said.

Six attacks were made in Yala's Muang district and two other attacks in Yaha district.

An unknown number of injured people have been rushed to the Yala Provincial Hospital.

Police sources said many could be killed and injured but an exact number was still not known.

The banks, which were attacks included Bank of Ayutthaya, Siam Commercial Bank, Siam City Bank and Islamic Bank, located in Yala downtown.

A source from the Siam City Bank in Yala downtown said an official received a phone call, saying a bomb had been planted near the manager's room.

The caller told the bank to evacuate its employees immediately but the bomb exploded shortly after the phone was hung up.

A bank official was injured on his arm and bank customers ran for their life after the explosion, the source said.

Sources from security agencies said they have received a tip-off that the militants would launch coordinated attacks in a few days but they expected the attacks would be carried out on Friday.

The Nation

20 insurgent bombs in Yala banks,killing 1,injuring 18

YALA, Aug 31 (TNA) – Residents of this Muslim majority province were reportedly warned ahead of time that something unusual would take place on Thursday, but no hint was given that banks and financial institutions were to be targeted in honour of 'Bersatu,' but the authorities were apparently kept in the dark.

The southern insurgency intensified as suspected insurgents set off at least 20 bombs in this southernmost border province to mark the 27th anniversary of the founding of 'Bersatu'--the United Front for the Independence of Pattani--as an umbrella organisation of various ethnic Malay organisations. Bersatu means United' in Malay.

Police said at least one person was killed and 18 others injured Thursday morning after bombs exploded almost simultaneously at state-owned and commercial banks in the southern border province of Yala.

The dead was a customer of KASIKORNBANK's Yala branch. Initial investigation found that the bomber used a cell phone to detonate bombs. Police examined closed circuit television monitoring systems (cctv) and found a suspicious looking woman who might have planted a bomb.

Ten bombs were detonated in the provincial seat, five in Betong district, two in Yaha, and one each in Bannang Sata and Raman districts.

Police also defused another bomb found hidden in a hard-cover file in the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives' Yala branch.

The other victims have not yet been identified.

KASIKORNBANK temporarily closed its seven branches in the three southern border provinces, and others were likely to follow in response to uncertain security.

Meanwhile, police in Songkhla's Hat Yai district, the commercial centre of the South, stepped up security at the main railway station to prevent any untoward incident.

More than 40 police checkpoints have been set up at the main road leading to city centre. Vehicles and motorcycles are being searched thoroughly around the clock.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in the ongoing insurgency since early 2004, most of them in the Muslim-predominantly provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.

TNA

Tense PM Thaksin orders answers, after Yala bombs

BANGKOK, Aug 31 (TNA) - Looking tense following reports of Thursday morning's insurgent bombings in the deep South, Thai caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Thursday afternoon ordered senior officials to provide answers to possible security lapses that allowed coordinated bombings
in banks across the country's southernmost Yala Province.

Suspected Muslim militants set off at least 20 bombs at state-owned and commercial banks in Yala, killing one person and injuring 18 others.

The incidents were thought to mark the 27th anniversary of the founding of 'Bersatu'--the United Front for the Independence of Pattani--as an umbrella organisation of various ethnic Malay organisations.

Asked if the authorities ever speculated about the militants targeting the financial institutions, the prime minister said briefly that the intelligence agency had provided a forewarning of potential violence at this period of time, but he did not specify details.

However, Mr. Thaksin said, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Pol. Gen. Chidchai Vanastidya and Royal Thai Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Sonthi Booyaratkalin, who is directly responsible for overseeing security affairs in the region, would clarify the situation later.

Mr. Thaksin did not answer when asked about possibility of changing excutives overseeing the resolving of southern unrest.

Pol. Gen. Chidchai said he had talked with Fourth Army Area Command Chief Lt. Gen. Ongkorn Thongprasom and Yala governor Boonsith Suwanarat about the bombings and asked them to closely monitor the situation.

"Earlier," Gen. Chidchai said, "I warned the authorities in the region to brace for possible violence on the day marking the anniversary of Bersatu's founding."

The prime minister ordered the army chief to visit Yala and update him on the situation there, Gen Chidchai said.

As the latest development reported on Thursday afternoon,Yala police arrested two suspects allegedly involved in the bombings.

TNA

SOUTHERN CHAOS

Over 20 banks hit by simultaneous blasts

One dead and 24 injured as Yala reels from latest violence; more explosions feared

One person was killed and 24 injured yesterday as more than 20 small bombs exploded almost simultaneously inside commercial banks across the province, sending the entire security apparatus into a tailspin amid a growing fear that more such attacks are on the way.

With resources stretched, security personnel frantically scoured the inner city area for clues. They detained five people in connection with the attacks and are carefully checking security cameras to try to identify more of the perpetrators. The five detained denied any connection with the bombings.

Bomb squads were sent racing back and forth across Yala amid fears more bombs were going to be detonated ahead of intelligence warnings that yesterday was tipped to be an especially violent day for the South.

Desperate security planners are now being forced to go back to the drawing board to try to figure out what more can be done to halt the attacks which have not eased despite hard-hitting measures put in place over the past year.

More security guards have been hired and closed-circuit cameras have been put in place in various public areas and venues, coupled with armed patrols by uniformed police and soldiers. Stronger anti-terrorism laws have also been enforced.

Yet these measures appeared to have done little to deter insurgents from carrying out attacks on such a scale.

Most if not all of the bombs exploded yesterday were small home-made devices of less than a kilogram.

"One reason for the bombs being small in size may have to do with the fact that it's difficult to carry a big bomb into any bank. But overall, I think the aim was to discredit the government and create a psychological impact on the people's confidence in the authorities," said Pol Maj-General Thani Thawidsri, the deputy commissioner for the Police Ninth Region that oversees the seven southernmost provinces.

Although none of the bombs were packed with shrapnel, the blasts were powerful enough to shatter glass windows, rip through nearby walls and send chairs and tables in all directions.

A bomb at Kasikornbank in central Yala killed Major Suchart Srithong-on, a retired soldier who was in the lobby of the bank when the bomb went off.

Staff at the Government Savings Bank in Yaha district considered themselves lucky. A security guard found a home-made bomb hidden inside a cut-out book that he opened. He ordered everyone to rush from the building.

"It went off less than one minute after that," Police Lieutenant Somai Chamnan said as he made his way through piles of shattered glass and damaged furniture.

But one male bank officer at one of the two branches of the Islamic Bank of Thailand in downtown Yala was not so lucky. He was rushed to hospital to have a piece of glass removed from his eye.

Bank officer Fasuyah Dawor-saman was working at the counter when the bomb went off.

"I immediately hit the floor. My arms and legs were shaking all over as I crawled to the back room," he said.

The bombs were set off in 22 of Yala's 30 bank branches, both in the provincial capital and outlying districts, at about 11.30am yesterday.

Downtown Yala, where nine commercial banks were attacked, came to a standstill as shop owners closed their businesses for the day. Police rushed through the area looking for clues.

Most of the bombs were believed to have been triggered by time clocks, although in at least three locations, authorities found mobile-phone SIM cards attached to the explosive devices. All of the explosions took place in the banks' lobbies and many were set up in books which had portions of the pages cut out to provide a nook.

Commander of the Fourth Army Area, Lt-General Ongkorn Thongprasom, said authorities had prior knowledge about militants planning to carry out major attacks but admitted they had overlooked the possibility of commercial banks being hit.

In Bangkok, Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya said authorities had learned the rebels were planning a major attack yesterday to coincide with the founding day for Bersatu, an umbrella group for Malay separatist groups.

"I ordered [the authorities] to take precautions and preventive measures but this incident still occurred," he said.

Yesterday's attack was not the first time that Yala, which was awarded a City of Peace title from Unesco in 2003, had experienced such chaos. In July 2005, Yala's provincial seat was turned into a war zone as gunfights erupted between scores of suspected Muslim separatists on motorcycles and police. In a simultaneous attack, the area was hit by a series of bombs and Molotov cocktails, causing havoc at a newly opened cinema complex, a karaoke bar, shops and a warehouse.

The violence began when a powerful explosion brought down pylons outside an electricity sub-station early in the evening, crippling most of the telephone system and plunging this city of peace into darkness throughout the night.

The attack prompted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to push through a controversial Emergency Decree giving him absolute power to handle all emergencies. The decree later became law and continues to be imposed on this Muslim-majority region where more than 1,300 people have been killed since January 2004.

Don Pathan

The Nation

Yala