BANGKOK: Only a day before United States President Barack Obama arrived in Thailand, a motorcycle bomb detonated in the southern part of the country, killing at least one person and wounding another 20. The incident in Yala Province in south Thailand, an area that has become a hotbed of violence after militants continued their attacks against the government, highlights the tension in the area. The explosion also set at least five buildings on fire in the city center. Police Col. Narin Busaman said the suspected militants set off the remote-controlled bomb, which was hidden in a motorcycle, when a group of patrolling soldiers passed by the city's commercial area. He added that five soldiers and 15 civilians were injured. Police have not identified the dead victim. More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand's Muslim-dominated southernmost provinces since an Islamist insurgency erupted in 2004. Obama arrived in Thailand on Sunday. He will also visit Myanmar and Cambodia on his tour of Southeast Asia. Violence in southern Thailand has been linked to Muslim militants who are demanding a greater role and possible secession from the northern part of the country.
