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BANGKOK - A Thai demonstrator injured in a grenade attack at an anti-government protest site in Bangkok at the weekend has died in hospital, medical staff said Monday.
A forensic official at Bangkok's Ramathibodi Hospital said that 21-year-old Anupong Samerpak -- a volunteer guard for the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest movement -- died Sunday afternoon.
"Relatives have already claimed his body," the official said, adding that the victim's injuries were caused by shrapnel.
Seven other protesters were wounded Saturday when an unknown assailant on a motorbike tossed a grenade at the protest site at the prime minister's Government House offices, which the PAD has occupied since late August.
Last Thursday, one protester was killed and 29 injured in a similar attack in front of a stage at the compound, prompting PAD leaders to blame the government and call for a massive rally on Monday.
Police say about 18,000 protesters have turned out Monday morning, blocking parliament in what PAD leaders say is their "final battle" to remove the government, which they say is a puppet for ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat -- Thaksin's brother-in-law -- has denied any government involvement in the blasts and promised an investigation. No arrests have been made so far.
Two PAD supporters were also killed on October 7, when police and protesters clashed outside parliament in street battles that also injured nearly 500 people including police. - AFP/vm
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