( CNN ) -- At least 12 people were injured when a bomb exploded in southern Thailand Sunday morning , police said . The explosion caused a fire that burned down about a dozen houses , Yala Police Col. Krisada Kaewchandee said . Investigators believe a car bomb caused the blast , he said . The explosion occurred in a region that has seen a spike in suspected insurgent attacks recently . Nine civilians were killed and two others were injured in a bombing in Yala province last month . Muslim separatists in southern Thailand have long battled government forces in a country that is overwhelmingly Buddhist . The conflict came to a head in 2004 after former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra took office . Several thousand people died in the resulting violence .
Police say the explosion caused a fire that burned down about 12 houses . Muslim separatists in southern Thailand have long battled government forces . The region has seen a spike in suspected insurgent attacks recently .