KUWAIT CONDEMNS THAILAND BOMBINGS – Four killed in tourist blasts

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HUA HIN, Thailand, Aug 12, (Agencies): A series of blasts hit three of the most popular tourist resorts as well as towns in southern Thailand on Thursday and Friday, killing four people and wounding dozens, days after the country voted to accept a militarybacked constitution. Four bombs exploded in the upscale resort of Hua Hin, about 200 km (125 miles) south of Bangkok, on Thursday evening and Friday morning, killing two people and wounding at least 24.

Other blasts hit the tourist island of Phuket, a resort town in Phang Nga province, and Surat Thani, a city that is the gateway to popular islands such as Koh Samui in Thailand’s Gulf. Kuwait condemned Friday the wave of bombings that targeted tourist areas in the friendly Kingdom of Thailand Thursday and Friday. In statements to KUNA, a senior Foreign Ministry official expressed Kuwait’s full solidarity with the Thai government and the measures it takes to retain the Kingdom’s security and stability.

The source reiterated Kuwait’s firm stance against terrorism and all its forms and manifestations. The source extended Kuwait’s sincere condolences to the Thai government and relatives of the victims, and wished quick recovery for the injured people. Hua Hin is home to the Klai Kangwon royal palace, which translates as “Far from Worries”, where King Bhumibol Adulayadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch, and his wife, Queen Sirikit, have lived in recent years. Neither were there during the attacks, as both are in hospital in Bangkok. Friday was a public holiday in Thailand to mark the queen’s birthday, which is celebrated as Mother’s Day.

No group has claimed responsibility, though suspicion could fall on insurgents in Muslim-majority provinces in southern Thailand. Police detained two men for questioning over the attacks on Hua Hin on Friday, said Police Superintendent Sarawut Tankul of the tourist police at the resort. They were detained because CCTV footage showed them in the area “before, during and after the bombings”, he said, declining to give more details.

Preliminary evidence showed the bombs were low-explosive devices devised to “make an announcement” rather than cause maximum harm, he said. Ahead of the blasts, police had intelligence an attack was imminent, but had no precise information on location or timing, national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda told reporters in Bangkok on Friday. “We just didn’t know which day something would happen,” he said. Since Sunday’s referendum on the constitution, there have been attacks in seven provinces using improvised explosive devices and firebombs, Chakthip said. The devices were similar to those used by separatist groups in southern Thailand, but that did not conclusively show they were the perpetrators, he said.

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Police ruled out any links to international terrorism, as did Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, which said in a statement on Friday: “The incident is not linked to terrorism but is an act of stirring up public disturbance.” Bangkok-based analyst Anthony Davis, at security consulting firm IHSJane’s, questioned the police assertion that the attacks were an act of local sabotage. The coordinated bombings were “designed to terrify and to blow a hole in the tourism industry”, said Davis. “The tactics used were clearly intended to minimise casualties while maximising economic and political impact. It is worth noting that no foreigners died in the attacks.” Thai authorities beefed up security at tourism spots, airports and on public transport in Bangkok.

“Why now, when the country is getting better, the economy is getting better, and tourism is getting better? We have to ask why and who did it,” Thai junta chief and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters.

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