Militants' savagery on display
Suspected militants beheaded a villager and then burned the remains of his body in the latest violent incident in the restive region where the insurgency has claimed more than 2,000 lives since January 2004.
Police said Sathit Thong-in, 58, was ambushed by a group of men who shot at him from the roadside and then repeatedly stabbed him with sharp objects. After he was decapitated, the culprits set his body on fire. The attack took place in Tambon Tasae in Yala's Muang district. A sarcastic note left by Sathit's body read: "This is the work of do-gooders". His head was left in the middle of the road, about one kilometre from his charred remains. In Tambon Tamtalae of Yala's Banang Sata district, gunmen murdered a husband and wife - Ayu Masaloh and Niseh Tohseh. Their bodies were found in the rubber plantation where the couple had been working. In Tambon Tasab of the Yala's Muang district, a police unit escaped with minor injuries after a roadside bomb attack ripped through the side of their pickup truck. Police said the bomb was set off by a wired detonator that extended about 100 metres from where the bomb had been planted. Another roadside bombing took place in Tambon Mahrubotok in Narathiwat's Ra-ngae district. The bomb was placed under a bench at a roadside stop and was detonated by mobile phone, police said. It appeared an Army patrol unit in a military vehicle was the target. Meanwhile, chief-of-staff of the Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC), Lt-General Chamlong Khunsong, said last Friday's raid on a makeshift camp where a small group of militants were training was "a major breakthrough". The gunfight ended in the death of five militants but was quickly billed as a major success story for the troops who are usually at the receiving end of the attacks. He said the army has identified a number of secret training camps in the restive region and plans to carry out more raids in the near future.
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