Bomb in Thailand's south kills 3, hits rail traffic

BANGKOK, Aug 2 (Reuters) Militants detonated a bomb on a bridge on the main railway line through Thailand's rebellious Muslim south today, killing three policemen and stranding thousands of travellers, police and a rail official said.

At least five trains, including one from Bangkok and one from the Thai-Malaysian border, had to stop at nearby stations as security officials checked the line for damage and more devices, officials said.

''Police and troops are making sure there are no more bombs hidden on the rails and rail officials are checking if the bridge is physically safe for trains to cross,'' state rail official Thanongsak Pongprasert told Reuters.

Militants detonated a 5 kg (11 lb) bomb placed by the bridge as a car of four rail patrolmen passed by. Three of the officers died instantly, and the other was wounded.

''We've found two bodies so far and are still looking for the other,'' an officer at the local Chana police station said.

The blast followed a night of arson, bombs and shooting across Thailand's three southermost provinces, where more than 1,300 people have been killed in a mysterious two-year Muslim separatist insurgency, officials said.

Nobody was killed in the overnight violence, although militants set fire to police booths and a rubber factory, and exploded small bombs outside karaoke bars, officials said.

At least 100 tonnes of rubber sheets were destroyed in a seven-hour blaze at the rubber factory in the province of Pattani, intensifying worries about supply disruptions from the world's biggest latex producer.

Pracha Taerat, governor of Narathiwat, where militants set off bombs at two karaoke bars, said security officials had found a time bomb earlier yesterday set to explode at 0130 (IST).

''There are no casualties because we stepped up security against such attacks,'' Pracha told Reuters by telephone.

One of the bombs exploded outside a bar in Sungai Kolok, a border town packed with bars and hotels popular with Malaysian tourists.

The town has suffered bomb attacks in the past.

Buddhist Bangkok has tried a variety of ways to end the violence in the rebellious region, from sending thousands of troops to promising millions of dollars in development aid.

But the violence persists, although security analysts say there is no evidence to suggest foreign groups are involved.

REUTERS DKB VV0938