Fear grips Yala after series of bomb and fire attacks

Four warehouses in the city came under arson attacks, damaging more than Bt100 million of property. The cost from other damages inflicted by a bomb attack in front of the Yala Rama Hotel, as well as the torching of auto showrooms and a pylon to relay mobile phone signals, have yet to be calculated.

The first bomb exploded at around 4:00 in front of a hotel in the heart of Yala, shattering the windows and cars parked nearby. Two grenades were thrown at a cash machine nearby and a billboard pole in front of a car showroom.

It took fire fighters spent two hours to bring the fire at the warehouses under control.

Police said attackers used homemade explosives with shrapnel made of steel rods cut into onecentimeter pieces. They were set off electronically by remote control, possibly mobile phones.

In spite of the presence of high security in the area, militants were able to enter the heart of the city and retreat quickly before the security units could respond.

Similar attack took place in February 2007 when a rubber warehouse was torched, sending dark smoke over the neighbouring Songkhla province. At attack followed a series of coordinated assault that killed eight people and wounded nearly 70 in a 24hour.

In July 2005, separatists on motorcycles simultaneously set off a series of bombs and Molotov cocktails, hitting a newly opened cinema complex, a karaoke bar, shops and a warehouse. Spikes scattered on roads by fleeing insurgents slowed security forces in hot pursuit.

The incident kicked off when powerful explosives brought down pylons outside an electricity substation early in the evening, crippling most of the telephone system and plunging this city of peace into darkness throughout the night.

The then government of Thaksin Shinawatra quickly pushed through a controversial emergency decree that still holds today.