Bombs in southern Thailand kill 2, wound 52

Police say at least nine bombs have exploded in Thailand’s restive south, killing two people and wounding dozens. The blasts were in a southern province that is facing an Islamic insurgency.

Pattani provincial police chief Phote Suaisuwan says Saturday’s blasts hit four 7-11 convenience stores, two gasoline stations and three other locations.

Phote says a hospital reported that it treated 52 people and had two dead bodies.

It was unlikely that the blasts were related to the military coup staged in Thailand’s capital this past week, though insurgents may have been emboldened by the development.

More than 5,000 people have been killed since the insurgency flared in 2004 in Thailand’s predominantly Muslim south. Thai Muslims complain of being treated as second-class citizens by the Buddhist majority.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.