BANGKOK: A bomb blast killed two top provincial officials yesterday in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued south, authorities said, a week after the kingdom held its first formal peace talks with rebels.
The deputy governor of Yala province, Issara Thongthawat, was killed along with Yala permanent secretary responsible for security, Chavalit Krairisk, after a roadside bomb struck their vehicle, officials said.
Issara, 56, was rushed to hospital but later died, southern army spokesman Colonel Pramote Promin told AFP by telephone.
He said the deputy governor appeared to have been targeted by militants while on his way to attend a local food fair. — AFP