The bomb went off at 9am at Ban Basapayae in Yarang district, about 20 minutes after a motorcade passed, police said.

Senior Sgt-Major Wichai Srisuk, Sgt-Major Prasert Sadkrathok and Corporal Sarawuthi Somda were hospitalised with minor injuries.

Qatari Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Faisal bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud was visiting the province to open a building at Yala Islamic College that was partly financed by his country.

He was accompanied by Interior Minister Aree Wongsearaya, Pattani Governor Panu Uthairat and former interior minister Wan Mohammad Noor Matha.

Police said the 500-gram device was triggered by a mobile telephone. They found a leaflet at the scene warning residents that they would be bombed if they helped the police or military.

Interior minister Aree urged media not to highlight the bomb story, saying it was not abnormal for militants to detonate bombs in the restive region. The incident would not destroy international confidence in the government despite the presence of foreign guests in the region at the time, he said and added that violence in the deep South would be contained within a month from now.

In neighbouring Yala, two on-duty rangers were injured in a grenade attack at midday.

Police said militants tossed the grenade into the 4108 Ranger Station in Yala's Muang district, likely as a revenge attack for the recent arrest of seven suspected militants.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in separatist-related violence in the South over the past three years. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont just visited the South over the weekend to urge local residents and religious leaders to cooperate with authorities to end the violence.

The Nation

Pattani