Thailand's junta is tightening security after two homemade pipe bombs detonated near a Bangkok shopping mall, the first major disruption to an uneasy peace imposed under martial law since last May's coup.
Authorities declined to speculate whether the small bombs - which caused minor injuries to two passers-by when they exploded near the downtown Paragon mall on Sunday evening - were linked to the nation's turbulent politics.
But deputy prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon warned the public will now face stepped up security.
"We will strictly enforce security across the country. We need to have high security checks in some areas," he told reporters.
"We can't say who is behind this ... it could be people who have bad intentions, or are linked to politics or people who think differently," he added, without elaborating.
A team of forensic police on Monday sifted through the debris created by the blasts, which struck at around 8pm on a walkway leading to the busy Paragon shopping centre.
"They were pipe bombs ... low pressure explosive devices," national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri told reporters.
Thailand has been under martial law since the coup toppled the elected government last year, despite growing calls from rights groups and the international community for the junta to rescind the draconian law.
Political gatherings and criticism of the coup are forbidden under the law, with the junta responding aggressively to any form of protest.
The Thai junta has repeatedly justified martial law by saying Thailand's bitter political divisions need more time to heal, while they set about remodelling the kingdom's political structure.
Thailand has endured nearly a decade of political turmoil since billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra rattled the establishment by winning elections with his populist politics.
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