<p>The blast outside a bank started a large fire that swept through nearby shops in Yala, the main city in one of three provinces near the Malaysian border that have been under emergency rule since 2005.<br /><br />"There was a bomb hidden in a fire extinguisher in a pick-up truck parked in front of a grocery shop near Siam City Bank," a local police officer said. Of the casualties, four were seriously wounded, including three of the soldiers, authorities said.<br /><br />Shadowy Islamic insurgents have waged a violent campaign in Thailand's southernmost region since early 2004, leaving more than 4,400 people dead, including both Muslims and Buddhists, in near-daily attacks.<br /><br />Violence appears to have intensified recently: a bomb attack in Yala province killed nine villagers last month and an unusually bold attack by militants a week earlier on a military base left at least four soldiers dead.<br /><br />On Thursday three people, including a teacher, were shot dead and their bodies burned in neighbouring Pattani province, in one of a series of gun attacks in the region last week.</p>
<p>The blast outside a bank started a large fire that swept through nearby shops in Yala, the main city in one of three provinces near the Malaysian border that have been under emergency rule since 2005.<br /><br />"There was a bomb hidden in a fire extinguisher in a pick-up truck parked in front of a grocery shop near Siam City Bank," a local police officer said. Of the casualties, four were seriously wounded, including three of the soldiers, authorities said.<br /><br />Shadowy Islamic insurgents have waged a violent campaign in Thailand's southernmost region since early 2004, leaving more than 4,400 people dead, including both Muslims and Buddhists, in near-daily attacks.<br /><br />Violence appears to have intensified recently: a bomb attack in Yala province killed nine villagers last month and an unusually bold attack by militants a week earlier on a military base left at least four soldiers dead.<br /><br />On Thursday three people, including a teacher, were shot dead and their bodies burned in neighbouring Pattani province, in one of a series of gun attacks in the region last week.</p>