Bomb Kills 5 Near Hotel in Thailand.

BANGKOK, Thailand - In an escalation of the sectarian violence plaguing Muslim-dominated southern Thailand, a powerful car bomb exploded Thursday in a busy nightlife district, killing five people and injuring more than 40. The car bomb was believed to be Thailand’s first.

A series of smaller attacks during the past year has been blamed on Islamic separatists in the mostly Buddhist country, but Thursday’s car bomb raised questions about whether foreign militants were involved.

The bomb was planted in a car parked near the Marina Hotel in Sungai Kolok, a town on the Malaysian border that is popular with male tourists. No one has taken responsibility for the attack, which police believe was triggered with a mobile phone.

Probably the work of militant Buddhists.