BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A series of bomb blasts ripped through three department stores Saturday night in Thailand's restive south, killing four people and wounding dozens, police said. The attacks in the region's main commercial center of Hat Yai came just hours after the military staged a peace rally in the south, the site of a Muslim insurgency, where it expressed hope that people would work with authorities to end the violence.Authorities quickly blamed separatist insurgents for the attacks. Since 2004, they have waged a bloody campaign that has killed at least 1,700 people - most civilians. "We do believe that the insurgents are responsible for the bombs attacked," Lt. Gen. Palangoon Klaharn, the military spokesman, said. "Their intention is to spread fear in the region."
The bombs planted on motorbikes were triggered simultaneously at 9:15 p.m. in the Hat Yai business district in Songkhla province, Pol. Col. Pattanawut Angkanawin said. At least four people were killed, Pattanawut said.