Two die as nine bombs explode in Bangkok

Nine bombs exploded across Bangkok on New Year’s Eve, killing two people, wounding 34 – at least six of them foreigners – and driving home thousands of revellers.

The foreigners hurt in the blasts were two Serbians, two British nationals, a Hungarian and a US national, said Suchila La-oan, a staff member of the Police General Hospital, where the victims were sent.

No one has claimed responsibility. The bombings capped a year of unrest in Thailand, including a military coup three months ago and an increasingly violent Muslim insurgency in the south.

One of the foreigners had her leg blown off by a bomb, the iTV television station reported. The report could not immediately be confirmed, and no futher details were available about the condition of the wounded.

The bombings triggered a major security lockdown in the Thai capital, but no chaos. An investigation has been launched.