17 hurt in southern Thailand blasts, schools closed

June 18, 2007

Bombings across southern Thailand injured 17 people today. In Yala, a bombing in a tea shop injured 14 people, while in Narathiwat, a roadside bomb injured two soldiers and a bomb on a bridge injured a government employee.

Overnight, a school was burned. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont ordered indefinite closure of all public schools in the three southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, citing insurmountable security concerns because of the south Thailand insurgency.

"There are more than 700 schools in the three southern provinces. It's difficult to beef up security at all schools," Surayud was quoted as saying by the Thai News Agency.