Bomb blast in southern Thailand

The explosion went off in a toilet near the town hall

A bomb has exploded in southern Thailand near a hall where the Defence and Interior Ministers were meeting local officials in Narathiwat province.

One woman was wounded in the blast which went off in a toilet in the nearby offices of a telephone company.

In a separate incident a policeman was shot dead in Yala.

The government imposed martial law in the area in January and has blamed Islamic militants for violence that has killed over 50 people.

"We consider the blast to be a direct challenge to state authority. The government wants to denounce the perpetrators of the bomb attack who are trying to worsen the situation," said government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair.

Development

A bomb squad also defused a device which was planted in a branch of the Government Savings Bank next to the town hall where talks were taking place.

The Defence Minister, Chetta Thanajaro, and the Interior Minister, Bhokin Bhalakula, were meeting senior local officials to discuss the wave of violence in the south.

Earlier a police spokesman in Yala province said that four gunmen shot the policeman, Surapol Prabpailee, in the back of his head while he was directing traffic.

The spokesman said that he died at the scene and the gunmen escaped.

Killings on an almost daily basis have continued despite a government pledge to spend $304m on development projects in the region over two years.

Thailand's minority Muslims have long complained of discrimination in jobs, education and culture by the predominantly Buddhist central government.