Six officers were injured in an explosion outside a police station in southern Thailand.

The members of the paramilitary Volunteer Defense Corps were working when a motorcycle bomb detonated some 66 feet from the building in Pattani province at 8 am today.

The officers, named as Boonlert Sangsuwan, Phanuwat Mairaksa, Banterng Muanming, Matophet Waekuno, Matohe Salae, and Jehsoh Mama, suffered minor injuries when they were hit by shrapnel. They were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Police Colonel Jeffrey Saimankul, superintendent of the Mueang Pattani Police Station, said police were collecting evidence and reviewing CCTV cameras at the scene.

He said: 'At around 7am, a suspect rode a motorcycle to the area behind TK Park Pattani and left the vehicle there. He then walked back to the main road where we believe he escaped in a getaway car. We are checking security cameras and have closed off every entry point to the city.'

The explosion was said to have caused panic among locals as it occurred amid tight security at the scene.

Police believe the suspect is linked to a group that carried out a previous bombing in the area.

Islamic separatist terror attacks target the three southernmost provinces of Thailand - Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat - next to the border with Mulsim neighbors Malaysia. Thai state employees and infrastructure are often hit while attacks on civilians are rare.

Officials believe the conflict dates to a deal in 1909 that the British Empire struck to incorporate the Muslim region into the Siamese mainland.

The region's culture is more similar to Malaysia and dramatically different to Buddhist Thais causing decades of tension that lead to the emergence of separatist groups fighting for independence in the 1960s.

The struggle has continued ever since with more than 7,344 people killed and 13,641 injured between January 2004 and March 2022.

The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office warns against all but essential travel to the region while Canada's government warns its nationals to 'avoid all travel' to the three provinces.