Dozens of arson attacks in Thailand's restive south leave 3 wounded

Dozens of coordinated arson and incendiary attacks across Thailand's insurgency-hit south late Saturday left at least three people wounded and government property burned, the military said.

Multiple local government offices and several vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the 51 attacks, according to an AFP journalist and the military's Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC).

Firefighters worked to extinguish burning tyres left in the middle of a road and flames inside a 7-Eleven convenience store Saturday night, while police officers stopped motorists for security checks, footage from local broadcaster Thai PBS showed.

"Multiple coordinated incidents aimed at creating unrest occurred in various locations across the southern border provinces" from around 8:00pm (1300 GMT) to midnight on Saturday, ISOC said in a statement.

Most were in Narathiwat province, where three civilians were wounded and an overnight curfew was imposed, while other attacks occurred in neighbouring Yala and Pattani provinces, authorities said.

Since 2004, a low-level conflict has simmered in the southernmost provinces of Buddhist-majority Thailand, killing more than 7,000 people, as rebels in the Muslim-majority region battle for greater autonomy.

No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks.

Two women, aged 45 and 46, and a 21-year-old man were hurt in a roadside bombing in Narathiwat, provincial officials said in a statement.

All three were hospitalised and in stable condition.

The national railway operator temporarily suspended part of a route in Narathiwat after officials found damage on the tracks "caused by a disruptive bombing incident last night", ISOC said.

Narathiwat Governor Boonchuay Homyamyen told local media that authorities were investigating sites of the attacks on Sunday, including a local government office and telecommunications towers and electrical poles.

The Narathiwat military command earlier announced a curfew from Saturday night until 6:00am on Sunday.

A vehicle was stolen from the office of a subdistrict administrative organisation in Narathiwat during one of the attacks that left the building in flames, ISOC said.

The burned-out pickup truck was later found abandoned on a road.

Expected attacks

At a municipal office in Pattani province damaged in another attack, army commander for the southern region Norathip Poinok said Sunday that the assailants had aimed to destroy the building and undermine public trust in the state.

"We had intelligence reports for about two months that there would be attacks on local offices," he told reporters, adding that the military had issued warnings to security agencies but did not know when and where the assaults would occur.

Insurgents in the deep south regularly carry out attacks on security officials and government property, including ahead of visits by officials to the region.

Last month, assailants killed five soldiers in a shooting and bomb attack at a checkpoint in Narathiwat.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and members of his cabinet are scheduled to make a two-day visit to the city of Hat Yai in southern Songkhla province next week to discuss investment projects, flooding prevention and security issues, his office said on Saturday.