BANGKOK, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Six people were injured in southern Thailand Wednesday when two small bombs exploded in advance of a visit by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Three soldiers and three civilians were injured by Wednesday's roadside bomb, set off near a branch of the state-owned Krung Thai Bank in Narathiwat where soldiers regularly patrol, local police said. The second bomb in the same province exploded at a rubber plantation in the Ruso district, but no-one was hurt.
Sinawatra's party failed to win a single seat in elections earlier this month in the predominantly Muslim southern provinces. He is scheduled to meet both Muslim and Buddhist leaders in his three-day tour of the area, the BBC said.
His visit comes on the heels of a cabinet decision to deploy a special, 12,000-man infantry division to the area to focus on outreach programs and development work, the report said.
