Malaysia: Bombings Rock Southern Thai Tourist Destination

Suspected insurgents on a motorcycle fired bullets and threw a homemade bomb at a group of people in a packed restaurant.

Less than two hours later, a bomb hidden in a car exploded outside a hotel. Both attacks took place in Sungai Kolok district in Narathiwat, a thriving town bordering Malaysia.

Famous for its racy nightlife and popular with Malaysian tourists, Sungai Kolok has been the target of repeated bombings by suspected separatists over the past five years, hurting local trade and tourism.

The attacks followed a motorcycle bombing late on Monday that injured 17 people attending a Buddhist festival in Pattani.

The rubber-rich region was an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before it was annexed by Thailand in 1909.

Despite flooding the region with tens of thousands of police, soldiers and security guards, the government has made little progress towards putting an end to the unrest.

(NTDTV)