The explosion caused a fire that burned down about a dozen houses, Yala Police Col. Krisada Kaewchandee said. Investigators believe a car bomb caused the blast, he said.

The explosion occurred in a region that has seen a spike in suspected insurgent attacks recently. Nine civilians were killed and two others were injured in a bombing in Yala province last month.

Muslim separatists in southern Thailand have long battled government forces in a country that is overwhelmingly Buddhist. 

The conflict came to a head in 2004 after former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra took office. Several thousand people died in the resulting violence.