A series of explosions inside banks in Thailand's Yala province have killed at least one person and injured many others.

Police say bombs went off almost simultaneously at 22 banks in Yala town and outlying areas of the southern province.

The military immediately ordered all banks in the province to close.

Police suspect Muslim militants are behind the blasts.

Yala is one of three mainly Muslim provinces in Thailand's south hit by more than two years of violence.

Near-daily bomb blasts, targeted killings and other attacks have killed at least 1,400 people since January 2004.

The three provinces were an ethnic Malay sultanate until Buddhist Thailand annexed them a century ago, and separatist unrest has simmered ever since.

Rumours

Our correspondent in Bangkok, Karen Percy, says rumours had surfaced in recent days that there might be trouble in the region on Thursday, which is Malaysian Independence day.

The Malaysian border is just 30 kilometres from Yala town.