Nine bombs exploded near bustling markets in Thailand's restive south early Monday, killing a soldier and wounding 12 people including a Buddhist monk, police said. The coordinated blasts, triggered by mobile phones, exploded at about 7:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT) near markets in the Rangae, Waeng and Srisakorn districts of Narathiwat province bordering Malaysia, Police Col. Manoch Ananritikul said. A soldier died on the way to the hospital while seven civilians, four soldiers and a monk were wounded, Manoch said. «The suspected insurgents apparently targeted soldiers who were protecting monks because the attack occurred at the time monks go out to collect alms,» the Associated Press quoted Police officer Kosol Pringkongpol as saying.
