STRIFE IN FAR SOUTH
Massive roadside blast hurts 10 soldiers
A vehicle carrying patrolling soldiers lies destroyed following a roadside bomb in Yala’s Muang district. Ten soldiers were hurt, three critically.
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Motorcyclist shot dead, while fire ravages local govt and child centre
An explosion, a drive-by shooting and a fire rocked the deep South yesterday, resulting in one dead and 11 others injured. At around 5pm, a 10-kg bomb exploded at a roadside in Muang district of Yala as a routine patrol vehicle passed by - injuring 10 soldiers. Police found a three-metre wide and one-metre deep crater, with electric wires believed to be connected to the detonator in the forested area by the roadside. The bomb seriously injured three soldiers, including Sgt Rachan Kantama, 31, Com Sgt Maj Boonmee Kampan, 49, and Com Sgt Maj Wirach Sawaengphon, 25. Seven others suffered minor injuries. Their vehicle, a white pick-up truck, was badly damaged. In Narathiwat, Thanakorn Phuratanaroj, 19, was found dead on a roadside in Rusoh district. Thanakorn was riding a motorbike in the area with his friend Attaya Supithak, 22, who was injured in the attack. Police said two gunmen on a motorbike fire several rounds at the two with an 11mm pistol before speeding away. In Pattani, a centre for children's development and a Tambon-level government was set ablaze yesterday afternoon. Police said the fire destroyed the entire one-storey building. Police suspect Muslim insurgents were behind the fire and are investigating if it was related to the arrest of a suspect militant in the same area. More than 1,900 people have been killed since the violence re-emerged in the three southernmost provinces in January 2004. The military-appointed government led by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has been advocating reconciliation and put the ongoing violence in the South as one of its top priorities. In Pattani's Kapho district, a group of 200 women and children surrounded a police station demanding officials release suspect Sama-ae Jeha, who was arrested earlier in connection with a recent murder. The gathering ended after negotiations with the district chief. The suspect was allowed to see his relatives.
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