Seven people were injured late on Friday when a car bomb went off in the car park of the Central Festival shopping mall on the Thai island of Samui, 700 kilometers (435 miles) south of the capital, Bangkok.

Police on the resort island said those injured included six Thais and a 12-year-old Italian girl.

A spokesperson from the island's disaster prevention office said all the victims have since been released from hospital after treatment.

Bomb squad experts have been searching the site for clues as to who might be responsible for the attack.

A twin bomb attack at a luxury shopping mall in Bangkok in February that injured two people was blamed by authorities on elements wanting to destabilize the military government, which came to power in a May coup.

The junta lifted martial law last week, but the military still maintains extensive security powers to counter what it says is the threat of political unrest.

The government has been trying recently to persuade tourists - a key factor in the country's economy - that Thailand is safe to visit after the months of sometimes violent political turmoil that led to last year's coup.

tj/jr (dpa, AFP)