A Thailand car bombing on Tuesday outside a supermarket in Pattani injured 60 people. Muslim militants fighting for a separate state were suspected.
Pattani is located in the southern Thailand, where the largely ethnic Malay Muslims live in the provinces of Yala and Narathiwat, reported Reuters.
The car bomb scattered debris while sending up a column of black smoke into the air.
The Bangkok Post said two of the 21 admitted to hospitals were listed in critical condition.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corp., the bomb was inside a pick-up truck, parked outside the supermarket, a popular grocery and retail chain in Pattani. ABC said the suspects allegedly set off a small bomb outside the market, causing people to gather before a second explosion.
The Bangkok Post said the first explosion sounded like a large firecracker about 10 minutes before the second and larger blast.
The Post said most of the injured were parents and their children shopping for the new school term.
Thailand defense spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich said deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon had ordered agencies to do all they can to assist those injured in the blast.
ABC reported that militants there rarely claim responsibility for attacks.
Reuters said Muslim militants have been fighting for a separate state in the south of predominantly Buddhist Thailand for decades.
Deep South Watch, an independent monitoring group, stated that more than 6,500 deaths have been continued to the separatist insurgency since 2004.
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