BANGKOK - A car bomb exploded in southern Thai province of Yala, triggering a big fire and injuring 18 soldiers and civilians on Sunday, local media reports said.

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The bomb hidden in a pickup truck was detonated by a remote control as a soldier patrol passed through a municipal area of Yala, Thai-language Matichon online reported by quoting police sources.

The report said it needed three hours before the fire, damaging 12 houses and shops, could be stopped.

The injured were treated at a Yala hospital, English-language Bangkok Post online said.

The restive south of Thailand has been subject to violence for years, with a few thousands of soldiers and civilians already killed.