Our man Chai in Thailand reporting in:
Two bombs explode at Pattani C.S. Hotel, entire city in darkness
Date time of this report:
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 8:15pm Thailand time
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 9:15am New York time
Date time of bombing:
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 7:14pm Thailand time
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 8:14am New York time
Thai language news media: Two bombs explode at Pattani C.S. Hotel, entire city in darkness.
The Muslim terrorist attacks continued today with two bombs exploding in Pattani at the C.S. Hotel. At this point it is unknown if there are any casualties. Aside from the normal confusion after a bombing attack, the news media is being hampered by a total power blackout in the city that happened at about the same time as the bombs went off. It is unknown if the power failure is related to the hotel bombs or if there was a separate attack on the power grid.
The same hotel was bombed on March 16, 2008 when 2 were killed and 14 injured.
BANGKOK, July 31 (Bernama) -- Two bombs rocked Pattani Tuesday night including a hotel which was bombed for the second time within four years.
A Pattani police spokesman said a car bomb exploded behind the CS Hotel at 7.15pm (Malaysian time: 8.15pm) causing the hotel to catch fire right up to the seventh floor.
All guests were immediately evacuated from the hotel and only one person sustained minor injury. Initial police investigations showed that a 10-kg homemade bomb was hidden in the car which was parked near the hotel's kitchen.
"I could feel the impact of the bomb as my house is situated just about 100 metres from the hotel," said a local journalist who declined to be identified. The second bomb exploded at the Paknam area, a few minutes after the first bomb was detonated.
The eight-storey CS Hotel was first bombed in 2008 which resulted in three deaths and 10 injuries.
UPDATE: Hotel and power station bombed in Thailand after alert issued for Muslim woman driving car bomb
Special to Atlas Shrugs by Chai
Photo: Remains of a pickup truck bomb detonated at a Pattani luxury hotel by Muslim terrorists (courtesy of the ThaiRath news )
The Jihad war in Thailand continued today with the detonation of two bombs targeting a major luxury hotel and a power station in Pattani. Although the story is still breaking, initial indications are that at least three persons were injured in one blast.
At about Tuesday, July 31, 2012 7:14pm Thailand time (Tuesday, July 31, 2012 8:14am New York time) Muslim terrorists detonated a pickup truck bomb at the rear of the C.S. Pattani Hotel in Pattani city in Thailand's restive South. At about the same time another bomb exploded at a city power station, plunging a large section of the city into darkness.
Earlier in the day the Police Chief for the region issued an alert for a car driven by a Muslim woman. Police stated that the car contained a bomb intended to be detonated in Pattani, and was being driven by a "woman dressed in Muslim clothing so the car would more easily pass through security checkpoints."
Once again and as frequently happens world wide, Muslim terrorists used a Muslim female and Muslim female clothing to circumvent security personnel. The terrorists know that security and police personnel can be hesitant to closely examine persons wearing Muslim female clothing.
The bombings at the hotel and power station are the latest in a series of Muslim terrorist attacks that ramped up in Thailand for June and July, and continue into the 'holy' month of Ramadan.
In Thailand during the month of June, 2012 there were 80 incidents in which 46 people were killed by Muslim terrorists - 15 government employees and 31 civilians. In addition, one terrorist was killed.
(source: Bangkok Post )
The terror continued in July with the following:
Chronology of Muslim terror attacks in Thailand, July 2012
- JULY 3: A homemade bomb hidden in a bicycle’s front basket goes off and injures five soldiers in Yala's Muang district.
- JULY 4: Three homemade bombs planted in Narathiwat’s Rusoh district detonate simultaneously, wounding 12 policemen and villagers.
- JULY 9: A roadside bomb wounds two soldiers on foot patrol in Pattani’s Thung Yang Daeng district.
- JULY 13: Homemade bombs planted at four ATM units in Yala's Bannang Sata district and an M79 grenade attack on a security outpost wound one civilian and one policeman.
- JULY 19: A bomb explodes at a shop in downtown Pattani, but nobody is hurt. A bomb in Yala's Than To district kills a villagers and wounds another. A bomb is found after an ambush on villagers is carried out to draw security officials in Narathiwat's Si Sakhon district
- JULY 20: 'Holy' month of Ramadan begins.
- JULY 20: On the first day of Ramadan, a 50kilogram bomb hits a military vehicle on patrol in Narathiwat's Rangae district and wounds seven military rangers. A car bomb goes off in downtown Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat, burning down four shophouses and wounding eight people
- JULY 25: A bomb hidden inside a parked pickup truck goes off in Yala's Raman district and hits a vehicle carrying policemen escorting teachers. Five of the occupants are killed and one wounded.
- JULY 28: 20 Muslim terrorists attack a six man army motorcycle patrol. Four soldiers were shot to death and two were wounded. Video of the entire attack and gruesome killings was recorded by a hidden government CCTV installation, and is now freely circulating on the internet.
- JULY 28: Two Buddhists are gunned down in Pattani while riding their motorcycles home from work on Saturday night.
- JULY 29: Muslim man is shot to death early Sunday morning. A local Thai language news report stated that he was the assistant village head in Pattani's Thung Yang Daeng district and had been criticized by the Muslim insurgents for not being radical.
- JULY 31: At least two bombs exploded in Pattani. The first truck bomb detonated at the C.S. Pattani Hotel. Early reports indicate that three persons were injured. The second bomb exploded at a power installation and plunged the city into darkness.
- News from the Bangkok Post (Issued just prior to the bombing, contains alert about Muslim woman driving car-bomb.)
South operations centre to be set up
Published: 31/07/2012 at 08:48PM
PM Yingluck orders a special operations centre be set up to coordinate and oversee efforts to bring peace to the far South, as police on security point duty are warned a bomb-laden car is on its way to Yala municipality.
Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa said on Tuesday that Ms Yingluck wants a central operation to specifically tackle the situation in the far South.
Gen Yutthasak, who is in charge of security affairs, said Ms Yingluck issued the instruction at today's meeting of security agencies. The meeting was attended by Gen Yutthasak, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, deputy army chief Daopong Rattanasuban and National Security Council chief Wichean Potephosree.
He said the centre would be a permanent agency which would integrate the operations of all agencies involved in the solving the problem to ensure better efficiency and harmony.
This was not a change of policy, just an adjustment of the work procedures, Gen Yutthasak added. He admitted that present intelligence operations were not effective, judging from the escalating level of violence lately in the three southernmost border provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
The insurgents had stepped up their operations, employing new guerrilla tactics. There were two groups of militants whose leaders were fighting each other in terms of combat capability, he said Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm said he felt heavy-hearted to have been assigned to help oversee the situation in the far South, but would try to do his best.
Mr Chalerm said he would call a meeting of senior police officers in the South to hear their opinions. He insisted that it was not necessary for the prime minister to go to the South, as doing so would only be an added burden on local authorities.
Jurin Laksanavisit, a Democrat Party MP and chief of the opposition whips, said the opposition would file an urgent motion with the House of Representatives seeking debate on the situation in the South.
Mr Jurin said the situation was becoming worse every day. In the month of June alone, there were 80 incidents in which 47 people were killed - 15 government employees, 31 civilians and only one militant.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the prime minister had never visited the troubled areas to get first-hand information, he said.
Meanwhile, police manning security checkpoints on roads entering Yala provincial township have been ordered to watch out for a black Toyota Vios car which may have been fitted with a bomb.
The order was issued by Pol Maj-Gen Peera Boonliang, the Yala police chief, acting on a tip-off.
He said the driver would be a woman dressed in Muslim clothing so the car would more easily pass through security checkpoints.
It was believed a bomb had been placed in the car, and that militants planned to explode it at a spot inside the municipality, or in a nearby area, with petrol stations in particular likely to be targetted, he said.
