The blasts hit the Yarang district in Pattani province yesterday night as security forces patrolled the area.

A low-level conflict has rumbled for two decades in the kingdom’s southernmost provinces, with militants in the Muslim-majority region carrying out regular attacks as they battle for greater autonomy from the state.

“Two are confirmed dead and four others were wounded in the blast,” Pattani governor Pateemoh Sadeeyamu told AFP.

Local media reported that the first blast targeted a police car and was followed by several more hitting electric poles in the area.

The governor said an investigation into the attacks was under way.

Footage on social media shows the area near the blast sites on fire, with multiple gunshots being heard.

More than 7,000 people have been killed in the insurgency since 2004, and 13,500 have been injured, according to Deep South Watch, a local think tank.

The southern region is culturally distinct from Buddhist-majority Thailand, which took control of the area bordering Malaysia more than a century ago.