....Thai police have not singled the militants out yet, but police spokesman Col. Krisana Patanacharoen said Friday that the latest bombings followed "a similar pattern used in the southern parts of the country."

At 12:10pm on Sunday, an unnamed “good samaritan” noticed a strange clear bag hanging from a rail inside shop number nine of the Paradise Plaza night market on Rat-uthit 200 Pi Rd in central Patong.

An EOD bomb detection unit was dispatched to the scene, arriving by 1pm as the open-air indoor bizarre-style market – where clothes and souvenirs are sold to pedestrians from midday untill late – was quickly evacuated.

Inside the bag, authorities found a mobile-phone-cloth-wire contraption that resembled the same type of devices found in Patong on August 10, which the the regional police division commander in charge of the investigation initially denied was a bomb.

However, having failed to clarify what the device was, and considering that an actual bomb detonated in Patong on the morning of August 12, and in light of the description from a security guard who discovered one of the contraptions on August 10, many were left doubtful about the police commander’s initial conclusion.

However, the EOD bomb unit inspecting the contraption found today confirmed with provincial police superiors overseeing the inspection that the device was indeed a bomb that had failed to detonate.

Reporting to Pol Col Saman Chainarong, deputy commander of Phuket provincial police, a representive of the EOD unit, who asked not to be named, said it appeared that the contraption had likely been hanging on the rail for several days already, unnoticed.

Meanwhile, another contraption that resembles a pipe bomb was discovered this afternoon near Patong beach, in the area across from Banana Walk.