A bomb blast Saturday in southern Thailand killed an elderly man and raised to more than 30 the number of injuries in the nation's growing religious conflict. Besides the unidentified man's death, eight others were injured when the bomb ripped through a market in the predominantly Buddhist town of Tan Toh, in the province of Yala, the Voice of America reported. Also Saturday, a gunman shot and killed a policeman while he was driving home in nearby Pattani province. Sixteen people were injured Friday when a bomb blast struck a crowded restaurant in Narathiwat province, and several hours later two more explosions rocked nearby towns, but no one was injured in those two blasts. The latest violence brings to 27 the number of Thais, most of them Buddhist, who have been killed in apparent retaliation attacks after more than 80 Muslims died when security forces put down a demonstration two weeks ago. Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country, but approximately 10 percent of the population -- most in the south near predominately Islamic Malaysia - is Muslim. © Copyright 2004 by United Press International

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