Bangkok - An early-morning explosion killed one protestor and injured 24 others at Government House, which has been occupied by anti-government demonstrators for the last three months, police said. A bomb was lobbed into the compound of Government House, landing near the stage where the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) holds its daily rallies, at about 3:30 am, said Police Major Chuttipong Trakulthonmg of Dusit Police Station.
"We still don't have all the details because the PAD won't allow us in," said Chuttipong.
Jaenkhit Kladsakorn, 48, died in hospital of wounds inflicted by the bomb. At least one of those wounded was hospitalized in serious condition.
The Phujagan media website, which is closely linked to the PAD, claimed that the bomb was an M79 from a rocket launcher.
The PAD, a loose coalition of groups adamantly opposed to a return to power by fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his political allies, have occupied Government House since August 26.
The government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law, has been forced to set up temporary offices in Don Mueang, Bangkok's former international headquarters.
There have been at least three previous attacks on the PAD protestors at Government House, but this was the first fatality among the anti-government occupiers.
On September 1, pro-government gangs attacked the PAD entrenched at Government House, leading to street fighting that left one pro- government follower dead and 44 injured on both sides.
There have since been no similar organized efforts to evict the PAD, which is known to enjoy the support of powerful members of the Bangkok political elite, many of whom are also staunchly opposed to Thaksin, a former billionaire telecommunications tycoon whose populist policies won the firm support of Thailand's poor during his two-term premiership from 2001-06.
Thaksin was toppled by a military coup on September 19, 2006, and was sentenced on October 21 to two years in prison for abuse of power during his premiership.
He lives abroad in self-exile.
