Three bombs went off simultaneously in Southern Thailand, killing four people and wounding dozens. The bombs went off inside two department stores and at a hotel in the city of Hat Yai, the largest city in Southern Thailand and a popular tourist destination.
The blasts occurred at the Odean and Big C stores, as well as the Lee Garden Hotel in Songkhla province's Hat Yai city, the largest city in southern Thailand, according to officials and news reports Saturday night.
Television news reports said at least four people had been killed in the blasts and 30 wounded, although police could not confirm the figure.
TV news showed images of bloodied victims lying in restaurants or being led to safety by rescue personnel amid vehicles burning in streets strewn with shattered glass and overturned tables and chairs.
One body was shown covered with a white sheet next to an overturned motorcycle. Dozens of other motorcycles and larger vehicles also appeared to be destroyed.
"There are injured people, but it is too early to know how many," one police officer told AFP.
The blasts occurred at the same time a meeting was being held to try to resolve the problems that are leading to the Islamist violence.
