Thailand remains tense as troops act to remove anti-government protesters in Bangkok. As the violence mounts in the heart of the capital, many regret the failure of a plan that offered a way for the government and protesters to peacefully resolve their differences.

The gunfire and explosions that reverberated in central Bangkok Friday put to death the hopes created last week. That was when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva offered a reconciliation plan, which, combined with behind-the-scenes negotiations, seemed to end the threat of new violence between government forces and the red-shirt protesters.

The anti-government rallies at the Rajaprasong commercial area in Bangkok since early April have paralyzed business with massive revenue losses. The government has been under increasing pressure to end them. But the protesters, known as red shirts, refused to leave until Mr. Abhisit called immediate elections.

However, the red-shirt leaders unexpectedly welcomed the prime minister's reconciliation plan, which included elections in November. The city seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Kraisak Choonhavan, a key member of the governing Democrat Party, said the plan's hopes rested on it being accepted by red shirt leaders, and Mr. Abhisit's willingness to compromise.

"He's willing to compromise to a great extent and that's what he's done," he said. "The shortcomings of the result of the negotiations was quite startling to all of us because they [red-shirt] leaders had set a date for the dismantling of the barricades and move out, the cessation of all violence."

But the red shirts set down additional demands, particularly over the investigation of clashes with security forces on April 10. Their demands eroded faith in reconciliation plan.

No amnesty for Thaksin

And some political analysts here say the two sides failed to agree on an amnesty for Thaksin Shinawatra. The former prime minister, a major supporter of the red shirts, was ousted in a military coup in 2006, and now lives overseas to avoid a prison term for corruption.

On Thursday, the government began to isolate the protest camp, throwing up a tight security cordon around the camp, cutting off telecommunications, and blocking supplies of food and water. That sparked a series of clashes on the streets through the night, and that were continuing Friday night. Scores have been wounded.

Sunai Pasuk, a representative in Thailand for Human Rights Watch, fears the military's strategy could make matters worse.

"To me, in a situation like this and with protesters who are very defiant and agitated, this is an ingredient for disaster," he said. "This is a very dangerous situation that the government needs to operate with extreme care about the rules of [military] engagement. So I am very concerned."

But Sunai says the situation is complicated because moderate red-shirt leaders are reported to have left the movement. Those remaining have advocated more violence to force the government out.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn University, says many red shirts remain angry over court decisions that tossed out two elected pro-Thaksin governments in 2008. Their removal opened the way for parliament to make Mr. Abhisit prime minister.

"When you deny, when a substantial number of voters are denied and disenfranchised they will become disillusioned and take action upon themselves," he said.

As a result, Thailand faces its most political violence in almost 20 years, as the military seeks to retake key locations while the red shirts remain defiant - and willing to fight to the end.

Thai security forces and anti-government protesters are engaging in another violent clash in Bangkok's main commercial district, where fighting in recent days has left two people dead and dozens of others wounded.

Loud explosions erupted from the so-called "Red Shirt" protest zone as security forces fired tear gas and live and rubber bullets into the crowd of demonstrators early Friday. Witnesses say some protesters set fire to an empty police bus before fleeing the scene.

Gunshots were heard in the area throughout the night and into the morning, and one building was battered by shells. Businesses and several foreign embassies located in the upscale district have been closed and evacuated. Mass transit systems have been disrupted as services and stations within the affected zone have been shut down. And the government has extended an emergency decree to 15 other provinces in a bid to prevent more protesters traveling to the capital.

Friday's violence was triggered when a dissident general aligned with the Red Shirts was shot in the head and seriously wounded Thursday as security forces began a crackdown on the protesters' encampment. The wounded general, Khattiya Sawasdiphol, better known as "Seh Daeng" or Commander Red, was struck in the temple while being interviewed by a reporter.

He is in a coma at a Bangkok hospital, and its director says it is doubtful he will survive.

Thai security forces have deployed up to 30,000 troops backed by armored personnel carriers as part of an operation to disperse protesters rallying in central Bangkok for the past two months.The unrest which began in early April in Bangkok's Rajprasong commercial and retail area have forced the closure of hundreds of shops, leading to millions of dollars in revenues losses and thousands of jobs at stake.

On Silom Road, largely empty to traffic and closed off in sections, troops were on standby. Ms. Fah, a resident of Silom, backs the presence of the armed forces. Ms. Fah says the Thai people love their soldiers and are happy to have troops in the area, as well as loving the country's monarch.

Key Red Shirt leaders said Friday they would press on with the rally in defiance of a crackdown and are calling for supporters to gather at another venue in Bangkok. That venue, at Rajadamneon Avenue, was the scene of clashes in April between protesters and security forces that left more than 20 people dead and more than 850 others injured.

But divisions have been reported within the Red Shirt leadership, with some core leaders looking to end the rally after initially welcoming a reconciliation plan offering new elections in November. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is said to have withdrawn the early election date.

Many protesters support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a coup in 2006. Mr. Thaksin was accused by the urban middle class of corruption and abuse of power. But the former leader, who lives outside the country, still commands support among the urban and rural poor through previous populist policies while in power.

A double bomb attack at a football match in northern Iraq, which was unprotected by security forces, killed 25 people on Friday in the second incident this week to cause mass casualties.

The explosion, which also left 120 people wounded according to hospital officials, occurred at around 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) in Tal Afar, 380 kilometres (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a police officer told AFP.

Eyewitnesses said around 250 people were watching the game when the attackers struck and that no police or soldiers were on duty.

"We heard a loud explosion and the people behind me shielded me from the shrapnel," said spectator Hussein Nashad, 29.

"I ran away, but then I heard someone shout 'Allahu akbar' (God is greatest), and then there was another explosion."

The police officer said the double blasts were caused by a car bomb followed by a suicide attack. An interior ministry official said 25 people were killed and hospital officials said 120 others were wounded.

The incident came four days after a devastating series of attacks in five cities blamed on Al-Qaeda killed 110 people, in the bloodiest violence this year.

Around five dozen bombings and shootings shattered a lull in unrest on Monday, as Iraq moved closer to forming a government two months after a general election seen as crucial to US combat troops leaving the country by August 31.

The government pinned the blame for those attacks on Al-Qaeda, while Iraq's deputy interior minister conceded that the nation's security apparatus was at fault and an inquiry into its shortcomings was underway.

In March 2006, Tal Afar was hailed as a model town by then US president George W. Bush, but exactly a year later it witnessed one of the biggest attacks to hit the country.

Some 155 people were killed in a day-long massacre, the deadliest violence to ever strike Tal Afar, when gunmen murdered 70 men in an overnight rampage on March 27 in revenge for bombings that killed 85 people earlier that day.

Friday's attacks were the deadliest to strike Tal Afar since July 9 last year, when a double suicide attack targeting the home of a police sergeant and his brother killed 35 people and left 61 others wounded.

A further four people were killed and eight were wounded Friday by a roadside bomb in Adhamiyah, a Sunni district in northern Baghdad, the interior ministry official added.

The latest violence came as political wrangling over the outcome of Iraq's March 7 election rumbles on.

A recount of votes in Baghdad yielded no evidence of fraud, Iraq's electoral commission said on Friday.

Tallies from the 12-day process were still to be entered into the commission's computer system, with results expected on Monday, spokesman Qassim al-Abboudi told reporters.

"We finished the recount of 11,298 ballot boxes and no violations or fraud have been found," Abboudi told a news conference in the capital's heavily fortified Green Zone.

He added that political parties could still contest the results from the recount, but offered no timetable for the complaints procedure.

Electoral authorities began a manual recount of votes in Baghdad, which accounts for 68 seats in Iraq's 325-member Council of Representatives, on May 3, nearly two months after the election.