Bombs rock Bangkok, Thailand

[chera]

A series of bombs exploded in Bangkok on 31 December 2006 and 1 January 2007.  Four explosions went off almost simultaneously in different parts of the city at around 6:00 p.m. local time (1100 GMT). 2 more explosions rocked a major department store after midnight.  2 were killed and over 20 injured.

No one has claimed responsibility.  The government has yet to officially lay blame.  Potential culprits include the southern militants, the , or the junta itself.

Edit: Many prominent places have been hit or attempted
* Victory Monument. Major bus station and roundabout.  One people was killed and 17 injured from a bomb at a bus info booth.
* Klong Toei area near the Na Ranong intersection. A bomb hidden in a trash can near a Chinese spirit shrine exploded and injured three pedestrians. The explosion caused a secondary explosion to a number of cooking gas cylinders that were situated nearby.
* Sapan Kwai intersection. Witnesses saw a man dropping a grenade from a pedestrian bridge onto the police box, seriously injuring 1 person.
* Seacon Square Shopping Mall. A loud explosion went off at the parking space at one of the largest malls in Asia, causing an immediate evauation.
* Khae Rai intersection in Nonthaburi province. A police box was bombed.
* Sukhumvit Road, Soi 62. A police box at the entrance of the Soi was bombed was no injuries were reported.

The countdown at Central World shopping center, one of the largest malls in Asia, were cancelled.  After midnight, more bombs exploded
* Best Sea Foods restaurant on the Saen Saeb Canal near the Pratunam Pier and Central World. Three foreigners and two Thais were injured. One of the foreigners' legs was blown off by the blast.
* A public telephone booth at the pedestrian flyover linking Central World and Kesorn Plaza. Several foreigners were injured.
* A suspected bomb was located at the Buddy Bar on Khao Sarn Road about half an hour after midnight and tourists were evacuated from the area.  Khao Sarn road was depicted in the movie "The Beach" and is frequented by many Thais and foreign tourists.
* By 1 am, police disposed another bomb at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar before it exploded.  Suan Lum Night Bazaar is often frequented by tourists.

This sucks.....  Love and peace are the answer, not hate and killing.

[LovelyMermaid]

That's absolutly horrible...

[Asmodai]

Gah. The targeting of foreigners makes me suspect Al Qaeda rather than Thai groups are responsible though.

[MurasakiNeko]

I said this before... but fighting for peace, is like having sex for abstinence.

[LovelyMermaid]

^ very true!

[tamatron]

For the Thais, if you have Pantip login, read this - http://www.pantip.com/cafe/rajdumnern/topic/P5008772/P5008772.html

There are three hidden (?) cameras at Khae Rai. It seems like no civilians knew of them. The cameras all went off 3 hours before the explosion. Talk about suspicious.

[Kei]

Why can't we all just get along? ;_;

Also, I've read a few articles about this and there is more evidence (at least in the articles) to say that it is the ousted government that did this.

[chera]

The junta's incompetence makes me want to cry.  On what grounds does it blame the ousted government and exonerate the Southern insurgents?

The Thai Prime Minister explains, "I don't think they would come here as they could get lost in Bangkok."

[Himalia]

I said this before... but fighting for peace, is like having sex for abstinence.

Well there is a half truth in that. I think that the following is more accurate (in principal) If you want peace then prepare for war.