Blast rattles Thai south after peace talk deal

NARATHIWAT, Thailand (AFP) - Six people were injured in a bomb blast in the restive Thai south on Friday, police said, as unrest continued barely a day after Thailand signed a peace talk deal with one of several rebel groups.

The device, hidden in a motorcycle, was detonated outside a busy morning market in the provincial town of Narathiwat, police said, adding that the explosion was within an area deemed to be a "safe zone", with a high security presence.

It came a day after the Thai government agreed to hold talks with Barisan Revolusi Nasional, part of a web of shadowy insurgent groups in the Muslim-majority south where a bloody uprising has claimed more than 5,500 lives since 2004.

Local police suggested Friday's blast could be the work of a rival group responding with violence to the news of the BRN discussions.