Three killed, 11 wounded in Narathiwat attacks before two premiers' visit

NARATHIWAT, Dec 8 (TNA) – Two insurgency-related incidents in the violence-plagued province of Narathiwat on Monday left three persons dead, two adults at a market and a schoolchild at his school.

Local authorities reported that a bomb exploded near a market in a Narathiwat municipality market ahead of the visit that the Thai and Malaysian premiers will make to the province on Wednesday.

The bomb was attached to a motorcycle parked behind the Bangnak market in Narathiwat municipality. One man and one woman were killed in the attack and nine others were rushed to hospital.

In a separate attack, a student was killed and two people were wounded in a shooting attack in front of a school in Sungai Kolok district.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva are due to travel to Narathiwat on Wednesday. They will attend a ceremony to rename to "Friendship Bridge" a span crossing the river which is the two countries’ border and visit a Muslim school.

The Malaysian prime minister’s trip to Narathiwat is part of his three-day official visit to Thailand. (TNA)