Suspected insurgents on Wednesday morning detonated a bomb at a bus stop in Thailand's violence- plagued southern province Pattani, only some 100 meters away from where a helicopter boarding a Thai princess would land.

According to news network The Nation, the explosion occurred 7: 30 a.m. (0030 GMT) at the bus stop near the football field of a hospital in Yaring district, Pattani, where the helicopter of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, second daughter of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, would later land.

The blast left a small hole at the passenger shelter of the bus stop and slightly injured two policemen deployed to check the area before the visit of the princess, the report said.

The princess on Tuesday visited nearby province Yala to inaugurate the Thailand Knowledge Park, a living library.

The three southernmost provinces, Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, has been undergoing a revived wave of violence, which sees daily attacks such as bombings, drive-by shootings and arson attacks, for over three years since suspected insurgent militants raided an army camp in Narathiwat in January 2004. Nearly 2,000 people have died from the violence.

Source: Xinhua