NARATHIWAT — Thirteen people were injured when a car bomb exploded in front of a karaoke bar in the insurgency-plagued province of Narathiwat on Friday afternoon.

Several houses and other shops in Muang district were damaged by the bomb, which police believe was planted by local insurgents who have been waging a bloody separatist campaign in Thailand’s southern border provinces for the past decade.

The aftermath of a car bomb in Narathiwat province, Feb 20, 2015.

Police say the blast wounded two soldiers and 11 civilians, one seriously.

A second bomb planted on a motorcycle 500 meters away from the site of the first explosion was diffused by authorities without incident.

"The attackers wanted to lure police to the site before hitting us with another bomb," a police commander told AFP.

Insurgents have been battling Thai authorities in Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani provinces – a region known as the Deep South – since early 2004. The separatists aim to revive the independent sultanate of Pattani, which was incorporated into modern-day Thailand in the early 20th century.

In contrast to the rest of the country, which is dominated by Buddhists, a majority of those living in the Deep South are Muslims who speak a Malaysian dialect. 

More than 6,200 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the simmering conflict over the past decade, according to data compiled by rights groups.

By Cod Satrusayang

BANGKOK (DPA) — A drug-resistant strain of malaria has spread through South-East Asia and is on the cusp of reaching India, scientists said in a study published Friday. 

The study revealed that a strain of malaria, resistant to the most effective antimalarial drug, artemisinin, had reached the border region of Myanmar and India.

The research, carried out by the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit and published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, found the most deadly form of malaria-causing parasite present in 39% of malaria cases within the region.

Scientists warn that consequences could be dire if the drug resistant malaria reached the sub continent. 

"Drug resistant malaria parasites in the 1960s originated in South-East Asia and from there spread through Myanmar to India, and then to the rest of the world where millions of people were killed," said Professor Mike Turner, Head of Infection & Immunobiology at the Wellcome Trust.

"The new research shows that history is repeating itself." 

The study also warns that the rate the malaria was spreading was "alarming" and that resistant parasites had been found in Homalin, Myanmar, only 25km from the Indian border.

"Myanmar is considered the frontline in the battle against artemisinin resistance as it forms a gateway for resistance to spread to the rest of the world," said Dr Charles Woodrow from the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit and senior author of the study at Oxford University.

It is estimated that over 600,000 people die from malaria every year, most of them children under the age of five and living in Africa. 

NARATHIWAT — Thirteen people were injured when a car bomb exploded in front of a karaoke bar in the insurgency-plagued province of Narathiwat on Friday afternoon.

Several houses and other shops in Muang district were damaged by the bomb, which police believe was planted by local insurgents who have been waging a bloody separatist campaign in Thailand’s southern border provinces for the past decade.

Police say the blast wounded two soldiers and 11 civilians, one seriously.

The aftermath of a car bomb in Narathiwat province, Feb 20, 2015.

A second bomb planted on a motorcycle 500 meters away from the site of the first explosion was diffused by authorities without incident.

"The attackers wanted to lure police to the site before hitting us with another bomb," a police commander told AFP. Police say they are studying CCTV footage to identify a suspect. 

Insurgents have been battling Thai authorities in Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani provinces – a region known as the Deep South – since early 2004. The separatists aim to revive the independent sultanate of Pattani, which was incorporated into modern-day Thailand in the early 20th century.

In contrast to the rest of the country, which is dominated by Buddhists, a majority of those living in the Deep South are Muslims who speak a Malaysian dialect. 

More than 6,200 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the simmering conflict over the past decade, according to data compiled by rights groups.