Bangkok blast kills 2

A 12-year-old boy and a 40-year- old woman were killed in a bomb blast near an anti- government protest site in the Thai capital of Bangkok on Sunday afternoon, local media reported. An explosive device went off at around 5 p.m. local time near a department store at the Ratchprasong intersection, leaving another 22 injured, the Bangkok Post said. The injured have been rushed to nearby hospitals. The police are investigating into the blast. This is the second bomb attack reported over the weekend. On Saturday night, unidentified attackers shot and threw grenades at a protest site in east Thailand's Trat province, leaving a five-year-old girl dead and 34 others injured. Among the 34 injured, 29 are still under treatment in hospitals. The country has seen sporadic violence since political unrest erupted in late 2013. A total of 17 people have been killed and 739 wounded in political violence since Nov. 30, Health Department chief Suphan Srithammarak said earlier in the day. The majority, or 695 of the 739 wounded, sustained injuries in Bangkok, and the others in provinces of Trat, Pathum Thani and Rayong, said Suphan.