Two more gunned down, school set on fire in deep South
Suspected militants killed a soldier and a villager in separate drive-by shootings yesterday, while a public school was torched as violence raged on in the deep South.
Muslim Army Sgt Ruslan Wadeng, 32, was shot dead by two gunmen on a motorbike while riding to work, police said yesterday.Gunmen on motorbikes also killed Somjit Booranathorn, a Buddhist civilian who was travelling in the Nong Chik district of Pattani province, Police Colonel Thawal Naktrawong said. Earlier in the day, insurgents burned down a public school in Tambon Pabon in Khok Pho district and obstructed investigating officials and fire trucks by laying road spikes and heavy logs on the road to the scene. Meanwhile, authorities from the Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc) plan to take reporters on a helicopter tour of the restive region, especially around Yala's Bannang Sata district, to convince reporters that the area is still under official control. The decision came after weeks of reports in the local media that militants plan to "liberate" this district in Yala and plant their movement's flags to mark their victory. Authorities also warned that more attacks were in the pipeline to mark the third anniversary of the January 4, 2004 raid on an Army battalion, when militants made off with more than 300 MI6s. "We want the media to see for themselves that the situation and the area remain under our control and that no [insurgents'] flag has been planted," said Colonel Akorn Thiprote, spokesman for the Royal Thai Army.
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