A car bomb explosion on the popular holiday island of Samui in Thailand that injured seven people may be linked to the country’s political turmoil, a spokesman for the military government said yesterday.

Initial reports indicated the attack was carried out by the same group behind recent blasts in the capital, Bangkok, which caused no fatalities, said Maj. Gen. Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

He did not elaborate, but the leader of the junta that took power in a coup last May has blamed the Bangkok blasts on groups opposed to the military takeover.

The improvised bomb on Samui late on Friday was hidden in a pick-up truck and went off after a fashion show in the basement parking area of the Central Festival mall, the island’s disaster prevention and mitigation chief Poonsak Sophonpathumrak said.

Thai media reported that an Italian was among seven injured.

Authorities believe the vehicle was stolen from one of the three southernmost Thai provinces plagued by Islamic insurgency. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the three provinces since 2004.

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