Bombs kill 2, mar Thai revelry

BANGKOK, Thailand – As Bangkok celebrated the new year, nine bombs exploded across the Thai capital, killing two people and driving thousands of revelers home after the city was forced to cancel festivities.

Hospital staff and officials said 34 people were injured, at least six of them foreigners, including one American.

There were two waves of bombings. Six nearly simultaneous explosions late Sunday night killed at least two people and injured 26. Some initially mistook the sound of the bombs for fireworks.

Bangkok Mayor Apirak Kosayothin canceled major public celebrations and sent home about 5,000 gathered in Central World Plaza, the downtown venue for Bangkok’s main New Year countdown party.

After midnight, three more bombs went off near the same plaza, iTV television reported. Eight people were injured in the later blasts, the report said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, which capped a year of unrest in Thailand that included a military coup three months ago and a mounting Muslim insurgency in its southernmost provinces.

National police chief Gen. Ajirawit Suphanaphesat said he did not believe insurgents were behind the attacks in Bangkok, a major international banking and technology hub for Asia.