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BANGKOK - SECURITY was beefed up across Bangkok, as thousands were expected to throng the streets for New Year celebrations a year after bomb blasts in the Thai capital killed three people.
Extra security guards have been drafted in to check bags in shopping malls and transport hubs, while metropolitan deputy police commissioner Suporn Phanseua said all units were on high alert.
'We are confident people can celebrate this New Year happily,' he said on Monday.
Checkpoints manned by police, soldiers and security guards have been set up at locations where people are expected to gather, Mr Suporn said, but declined to reveal how many extra officers will be on the streets.
Eight coordinated blasts hit locations across the capital on Dec 31 last year, killing three people and wounding 42, including foreign tourists.
The explosions capped a year of upheaval in the kingdom, after a coup in September 2006 ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Theories swirled that separatist insurgents from the south of Thailand could be behind the bombs, while the military initially suggested that elements linked to Thaksin could be responsible.
But one year after the deadly attacks, no one has been charged and authorities appear to be no closer to uncovering the culprits.
Mr Suporn said on Monday that there were no intelligence reports to suggest that New Year's Eve festivities in Bangkok would again be targeted, and said 10,000 people were expected on the streets to bring in 2008.
In the south of Thailand, dozens were wounded early on Monday when five explosions rocked a town on the Malaysian border. Police said separatist rebels were probably behind the attacks. -- AFP
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