Thailand tightens security after car bomb blast in resort island

Thai authorities have beefed up security nationwide after a car bomb explosion that slightly injured seven people in the resort island of Samui late Friday night.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered security authorities to maximize security measures, deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Saturday.

At about 11:30 p.m. Friday night, a bomb in a pickup exploded in the car park of a shopping mall in Samui of southern Surat Thani province, causing minor injuries to seven people, including an Italian girl. They have already been discharged from hospital.

The blast reportedly occurred about half an hour after a major fire broke out at the Surat Thani Cooperative on the mainland of the province, resulting in a loss of 50 million baht (1.53 million U.S. dollars).

The Cooperative was founded by Suthep Thaugsuban, who led street rallies against the Yingluck Shinawatra government for months before the military coup was staged last May.

Intelligence indicated a possible link between the two incidents in Surat Thani and earlier bomb blasts in Bangkok, Sansern said, without elaborating.

Earlier in February, two bombs exploded in front of Siam Paragon shopping center in downtown Bangkok. Later in March, a grenade was thrown into the parking lot of the Criminal Court.

Authorities could not yet conclude whether the incident in Samui was politically motivated, PM's Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana was quoted by Bangkok Post as saying.

Some parties continue to look for chances to stir up turbulence, against the will of the majority of people, said Col Winthai Suvari, spokesman of the coup-making National Council for Peace and Order.

It is possible that certain insurgents from the country's restive Deep South were hired by some party with ulterior motives to carry out attacks in Surat Thani, Col Banpot Pulpian, spokesman of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), reportedly said.

But the ISOC has not found evidence that the insurgents would carry out attacks outside the Deep South, which refers to three southern border provinces -- Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and some parts of Songkhla. Endi