One of the people injured in the bomb attacks is taken to hospital.

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