BANGKOK, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Some 40 pipe bombs, believed to have been prepared for insurgent attacks, were seized in a southern border province of Thailand on Thursday, a police source said.

The pipe bombs and timer circuits, mostly designed to operate at a five-minute interval, were seized from a pickup truck by police on a road in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province, about 1,150 km south of Bangkok, according to the source attached to the National Police headquarters.

An unidentified man, who was riding in the bomb-laden truck, was arrested while another managed to escape.

The police believed the pipe bombs had been prepared for insurgents to attack authorities in the turbulent southernmost provinces, including Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.