Bombs Bring Down Thailand Power Poles

HAT YAI, Thailand (AP) -- Suspected Muslim insurgents have set off dozens of bombs in southern Thailand, bringing down power lines and setting tires on fire to block roads. Security officials said there were no reports of deaths or injuries.

Most of the attacks occurred early Friday in Muslim-majority provinces in Buddhist-dominated Thailand's deep south, where about 7,000 people have been killed in a separatist insurgency that flared in 2004. Thai media speculated the actions were in response to Thursday's ratification of Thailand's new constitution.

Military spokesman Pramote Prom-in said 52 electric poles were damaged by explosives in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Songkhla, causing minor blackouts. He said officials also discovered burnt tires and more explosives but reported no injuries or deaths.

(KA)