Twin blasts in a seaside resort town in Thailand killed one and wounded 21 others, including foreigners, the latest explosions in the region's top tourist destination.
Small bomb attacks are common in Thailand during times of heightened political tension, but there have been few such incidents in the past year and it is rare for tourists -- a key source of income for the kingdom -- to be targeted.
Unrest is often attributed to disputes over business, local politics or criminal activities.
Bangkok has been hit by several explosions in recent years, including a blast at a shrine in an area popular among tourists that left 20 people dead almost one year ago, the deadliest attack in Thailand.
Thai officials said they are investigating the motives behind Thursday night's explosions, which took place near the bar district in Hua Hin, popular among foreign and local tourists.
Here is a brief timeline of some blasts in Thailand in recent years.
-- 2010 --
July: A suspected bomb rips through a bus stop in central Bangkok, leaving at least nine people injured and reigniting tensions two months after the end of opposition protests.
October: A blast at a Bangkok apartment complex kills four, with the government blaming the incident on the anti-government "Red Shirt" movement, which denies any involvement.
-- 2011 --
December: A makeshift explosive device is found and defused near the government lottery office in the capital with authorities saying the perpetrators wanted to "challenge the government".
-- 2012 --
February: A string of botched blasts across Bangkok injure several people in an alleged plot by Iranian suspects to kill Israeli diplomats. Two Iranian men, including one whose legs were blown off, were sentenced to between 15 years and life in 2013 over the failed plot.
-- 2013 --
May: A homemade bomb hidden near rubbish bins in a busy suburban Bangkok shopping area explodes, injuring seven people.
-- 2014 --
January: Twin blasts by unknown attackers at an anti-government protest in central Bangkok leave 28 injured.
February: A woman and a child are killed in a grenade attack during an anti-government rally in a Bangkok shopping district popular with tourists.
That same month, a grenade explosion also in a bustling Bangkok shopping district kills three people, including two children.
March: A string of grenade blasts rocks the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, popular with foreign tourists, leaving four people wounded. Police say the attacks could be linked to the kingdom's deadly political crisis.
-- 2015 --
February: Two small bombs explode near a popular shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, injuring one man.
April: A car bomb packed inside a pick-up truck on the Thai resort island of Samui wounds seven people, including an Italian girl.
August: An explosion rips through the Erawan shrine in downtown Bangkok killing 20 people, mainly ethnic Chinese tourists, in the deadliest such attack in the country in recent years.
-- 2016 --
February: A car bomb detonates outside a police station in southern Thailand, injuring at least seven people.
August: Twin blasts in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin kill one Thai woman selling papaya and wound 21, including foreign tourists.
Twin blasts in a seaside resort town in Thailand killed one and wounded 21 others, including foreigners, the latest explosions in the region’s top tourist destination.
Small bomb attacks are common in Thailand during times of heightened political tension, but there have been few such incidents in the past year and it is rare for tourists — a key source of income for the kingdom — to be targeted.
Unrest is often attributed to disputes over business, local politics or criminal activities.
Bangkok has been hit by several explosions in recent years, including a blast at a shrine in an area popular among tourists that left 20 people dead almost one year ago, the deadliest attack in Thailand.
Thai officials said they are investigating the motives behind Thursday night’s explosions, which took place near the bar district in Hua Hin, popular among foreign and local tourists.
Here is a brief timeline of some blasts in Thailand in recent years.
— 2010 —
July: A suspected bomb rips through a bus stop in central Bangkok, leaving at least nine people injured and reigniting tensions two months after the end of opposition protests.
October: A blast at a Bangkok apartment complex kills four, with the government blaming the incident on the anti-government “Red Shirt” movement, which denies any involvement.
— 2011 —
December: A makeshift explosive device is found and defused near the government lottery office in the capital with authorities saying the perpetrators wanted to “challenge the government”.
— 2012 —
February: A string of botched blasts across Bangkok injure several people in an alleged plot by Iranian suspects to kill Israeli diplomats. Two Iranian men, including one whose legs were blown off, were sentenced to between 15 years and life in 2013 over the failed plot.
— 2013 —
May: A homemade bomb hidden near rubbish bins in a busy suburban Bangkok shopping area explodes, injuring seven people.
— 2014 —
January: Twin blasts by unknown attackers at an anti-government protest in central Bangkok leave 28 injured.
February: A woman and a child are killed in a grenade attack during an anti-government rally in a Bangkok shopping district popular with tourists.
That same month, a grenade explosion also in a bustling Bangkok shopping district kills three people, including two children.
March: A string of grenade blasts rocks the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, popular with foreign tourists, leaving four people wounded. Police say the attacks could be linked to the kingdom’s deadly political crisis.
— 2015 —
February: Two small bombs explode near a popular shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, injuring one man.
April: A car bomb packed inside a pick-up truck on the Thai resort island of Samui wounds seven people, including an Italian girl.
August: An explosion rips through the Erawan shrine in downtown Bangkok killing 20 people, mainly ethnic Chinese tourists, in the deadliest such attack in the country in recent years.
— 2016 —
February: A car bomb detonates outside a police station in southern Thailand, injuring at least seven people.
August: Twin blasts in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin kill one Thai woman selling papaya and wound 21, including foreign tourists.
