Suspected Islamist insurgents injured 27 people in three bombings in Sadao in the Songkhla tourist area yesterday: a car bomb damaged a hotel and 20 shops, and two bombs exploded near police stations. Two other bombs were defused in Sadao, and a car bomb was disabled near a police station in Phuket. In Pattani, an assistant village chief was shot dead yesterday, a female official was shot dead on Dec. 19, and five policemen who were escorting teachers to work were targeted by a roadside bomb but escaped harm. In Narathiwat, a roadside bomb targeting a police convoy injured two officers on Dec. 18, and a suspect in the killing of three members of a bomb squad was arrested. The head of the army warned of the prospect of civil war if the country’s political conflicts are not resolved.
