Suspected insurgents detonated a car bomb near a police station, killing one and injuring 34 more in Thailand.
The alleged terrorists parked a blue Toyota pickup rigged with a gas cylinder, steel rods, and 80 kilos of explosives, in front of a police dorm in Yala province on June 30.
CCTV footage shows the suspect leaving the vehicle behind as he hopped onto a motorcycle with another person to flee, minutes before the blast tore through the scene.
Bannang Sata police chief Ranon Surawit said: 'A 45-year-old local woman died while 18 other people were injured, including five, who were seriously injured.'
The number of injured later rose to 34.
Authorities said they arrested one suspect, Mustofah, 27, a deputy civil engineer assistant from the Thanto Subdistrict Administrative Organisation.
His wife was reportedly the cousin of a certain Wa-Uthman Waemong who is a wanted person in the area.
Mustofah was taken into police custody while police said they were searching for another suspect.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong and local officials expressed their condolences for the deceased, Rokiyah Sarana, 45, a kindergarten teacher at the Kampong La Lae Mosque.
She was passing through the area to buy snacks for her students when she was caught in the explosion.
Authorities believe the attack was carried out to create unrest and fear.
Islamic separatist terror attacks target the three southernmost provinces of Thailand - Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat - next to the border with Mulsim neighbors Malaysia. Thai state employees and infrastructure are often hit while attacks on civilians are rare.
Officials believe the conflict dates to a deal in 1909 that the British Empire struck to incorporate the Muslim region into the Siamese mainland.
The region's culture is more similar to Malaysia and dramatically different to Buddhist Thais causing decades of tension that lead to the emergence of separatist groups fighting for independence in the 1960s.
The struggle has continued ever since with more than 7,344 people killed and 13,641 injured between January 2004 and March 2022.
The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office warns against all but essential travel to the region while Canada's government warns its nationals to 'avoid all travel' to the three provinces.
