Small bomb wounds 4 police in Thai Muslim south

BANGKOK, Sep 23 (Reuters) A small bomb exploded near a mosque in the southern Thai town of Pattani today, wounding four policeman providing security ahead of a royal visit, police said.

The blast occurred about 500 metres from Pattani's central mosque which Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, who is on southern tour, was due to visit later today, police said.

''Police suspect it was caused by militants,'' said a statement by police in Pattani, the main town in one of three southern provinces where more than 1,700 people have been killed in separatist violence since January 2004.

It was the first bomb attack in the deep south since the Thai military ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup on Tuesday.

The coup, led by army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin who is a Muslim, has rekindled faint hopes in the Muslim-majority far south that he will ease violence in the region bordering Malaysia.

Mr Thaksin, who was loathed in the south, tried everything from iron fist to velvet glove to end the unrest, including drafting in more than 30,000 troops and police and promising billions of baht (tens of millions of dollars) in economic development for the region.

In the days leading up to the putsch, Sonthi placed himself at direct odds with his political masters on the south, staging a peace rally and proposing talks with the as-yet-unidentified insurgent leaders.

REUTERS BDP BS1228