Officials in Thailand say eight people have died and at least 70 people were wounded in three bomb blasts just minutes apart in the country's insurgency-plagued south.

The governor of Yala says the explosions went off Saturday around lunchtime in Yala city's business area.

Authorities say the bombs, hidden in two motorcycles and a car, also set several nearby buildings on fire.

Such bombings are a common tactic of Islamic separatists who have been waging an insurgency in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani since early 2004. The conflict has taken more than 5,000 lives.