Six Bombs Rock Hat Yai, Southern Thai Commercial Center
By Zachary Abuza
Saturday night saw a series of six bomb attacks in the southern Thai city of Hat Yai. Martial law has been imposed in the region since January 2004, including the provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala. It also includes three districts of Songkhla province, but not the city of Hat Yai, which has a Buddhist majority. The bombing of Hat Yai is important in that it is such an important commercial and financial center for the entire south; and attacks there do provoke a greater response from the government in Bangkok.
The attacks on Saturday night, began around 9 PM, killed at least five people and wounded at least 50. Bombs were detonated five minutes apart, ialong the main commercial street causing widespread panic. Significantly, the bombs took place on the 21st anniversary of the founding of the Gerakan Mujahideen Islami Pattani (GMIP) one of the groups most responsible for the attacks, though as with the entire insurgency, no group has claimed any responsibility. The targets included three department stores, a marketplace, massage parlor, and a hotel. One Westerner, a Canadian, a Chinese and three Thais were among the dead. The thoroughfare has some 10 hotels on it with roughly 1,000 people checked in according to the Thai police. The bombs were detonated by cell phones, despite counter-measures put in place last November.
On 3 April 2005, insurgents exploded simultaneous bombs at Hat Yai’s international airport, a hotel and a department store.
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