Two killed in attacks aimed at causing trouble to by election
Narathiwat - Two people including a paramilitary officer were shot dead in separate attacks that police said were aimed at derailing key by-elections on Sunday.
Paramilitary officer Royalee Yaena, 43, was killed instantly in a drive-by shooting by suspected Islamic militants early Sunday in Narathiwat. His wife Nasima was seriously injured in the attack and taken to the provincial hospital. "Though the killing was not near a polling station, it's clear that militants are trying to cause trouble during the by-elections," a police said. In Yala province, a 27-year-old Muslim man was killed after suspected Islamic militants opened fire on his shop, police said. Late Saturday, a policeman was seriously injured in Yala after militants attacked a school that had been used as a polling station in the snap polls. A bomb exploded at the school shortly after the provincial governor paid a visit to pledge that security forces would prevent attacks. A second bomb exploded about 30 minutes later when police arrived to investigate. Senior Sergeant Major Somai Rittitham, 45, was shot in the head as he investigated the scene. By-elections are being conducted in 40 constituencies nationwide, mainly in southern Thailand. Additional security forces have been deployed at polling stations in the three southern provinces along the southern border with Malaysia.
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