Thailand: At least eight blasts hit three cities within hours

Friday’s explosions came just hours after one person was killed and almost 20 injured, including foreign tourists, in two explosions in Hua Hin town on Thursday night.

Another bomb exploded in Hua Hin on Friday morning near a clock tower, killing one person and injuring four more.

A wave of small explosions targeted police and tourist sites across southern Thailand from August 11 to August 12, killing four people and injuring 34 others, including nine foreign tourists.

Tourists are being warned to “exercise extreme caution” in Thailand after a wave of co-ordinated explosions have hit cities in killed several people and wounding dozens more. The attacks came as Thailand had a national holiday marking the Thai Queen’s birthday. Police said earlier they were investigating all leads, but had ruled out links to global militant groups.

At 8:02 a.m. on Friday, two explosions occurred in front of the marine police station and Mueang Surat Thani police station, killing one and injuring many others.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has instructed local authorities to step up security at key locations throughout Thailand as a preventative measure and to ensure safety and security for tourists and local residents.

One of the injured is rushed to hospital. The town was hit again by multiple blasts on Friday.

The three provinces soundly rejected the referendum on the new military backed constitution which passed overwhelmingly in the rest of the country in Sunday’s vote.

Security at the Hilton hotel where Brett is staying has dramatically increased, he said.

As of Friday morning, no terrorism organization had claimed responsibility for the bombings. The blasts occurred in prominent tourist locations throughout the country, which indicates that this was a highly planned attack, although no group has come forward taking credit. And while numerous Friday blasts took place near seaside resorts – they occurred in the morning before crowds would have hit the beach for a day in the sun. “There are restrictions and checks on local travel, including on the road between Bangkok and Hua Hin”, the statement continued.

One of the bombs exploded in a small lane near a bar at about 10.20 p.m. (1320 GMT) on Thursday, causing all the casualties, Hua Hin deputy police chief Samer Yousamran said.

Earlier Thursday, another bomb blew up in the southern province of Trang – full of lovely beaches and tourist island – killing one person and injuring six, according to Thai press reports.

“The bombs are an attempt to create chaos and confusion”, Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters in Bangkok. The 24 injured included Thais, three Germans and other visitors from Italy, Austria and the Netherlands.

Thailand has been plagued by political violence, including several bombings, since the populist billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted as prime minister in a 2006 military coup after demonstrations accused him of corruption, abuse of power and insulting King Bhumibol.