Thailand: Terror and Tourists

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February 3, 2006: Violence in the south has cut tourist business by about 30 percent. There has been an increase in criminal activity in the tourist areas, and this gets confused with the less frequent terrorist acts. Makes no difference to the tourists, who are staying away, and causing unemployment to rise in the south.

February 2, 2006: In the south, a truck bomb went off near a city hall, killing two people in the truck and wounding another. The 11 pounds of explosives were hidden near the trucks fuel tank and apparently detonated by remote control. The dead driver of the truck was a local Moslem, the mayor of the town. It appears to have been an act of terror, to intimidate Moslems who do not support the separatists.

January 30, 2006: Several groups of armed Islamic terrorists attacked a rail road station in the south, killing two guards and three civilians over several hours of shooting.