Blast in Thai south hurts dozens

At least 39 people have been injured in a blast in southern Thailand, a day after eight soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected Muslim militants.

A bomb hidden in a motorbike exploded at a busy market in Yala province, which borders Malaysia.

Several people were hurt in the explosion and more in the panic that followed it, a police official said.

Yala is one of four provinces in the south of the country hit by a long-running separatist insurgency.

"This is clearly an attempt to intimidate people, intended to send a message that the authorities cannot protect them," army spokesman Colonel Acra Tiproch told Reuters news agency.

VIOLENCE-HIT SOUTH Home to most of Thailand's 4% Muslim minority Suspected militants have upped attacks since 2004, targeting Buddhists Security forces' response criticised by rights groups Thailand's restive south

On Monday, eight soldiers died when militants ambushed their vehicle in neighbouring Narathiwat province.

In one of the deadliest attacks in recent months, attackers exploded a bomb beside the military vehicle and then shot surviving soldiers.

Two other soldiers were injured in a separate clash on Monday.

More than 2,700 people have died since separatist rebels fighting for an Islamic state in the four Muslim-majority provinces escalated their attacks in early 2004.

Last year, US-based group Human Rights Watch warned that the violence was turning increasingly brutal, with the majority of victims being innocent civilians.

An offer of talks from the military-backed government and a softer approach from the security forces has failed to end the violence, with attacks occurring on an almost daily basis.