Yala bomb planted by a woman, police say
A police sketch of the suspected woman bomber.
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A Muslim woman is suspected of carrying out a bomb attack at a morning market in Yala province yesterday injuring at least nine people, police said.
A closed-circuit camera at a convenience store captured the image of a woman wearing a black headscarf favoured by Muslims putting a suspected explosive device in a car tyre in front of a food vendor's stall in a Yala market. The bomb exploded at around 07.25am, a few minutes after she planted it. The 3-kilogram bomb was triggered by remote control, police said. Three of the injured, including a female police officer, were in serious condition. Police distributed copies of a sketch of the suspect urging people to notify them if the picture matched anyone familiar. The picture showed the suspect as a woman wearing a black headscarf. She appeared to be in her early thirties and was around 150cm in height. It is the first time that a woman has been identified as a bombing suspect since the violence flared up the predominantly Muslim region. A spate of attacks erupted in the region at the beginning of 2004, which have claimed more than 2,000 lives. Muslim women have become active players in orchestrating violence in the South since last year when many of them beat Juling Panganmoon, a teacher in Narathiwat, to death. Women are frequently mobilised to put pressure on authorities to release suspected militants. The latest incident involving Muslim women was on Sunday when some 100 staged a protest to demand the release of three suspected militants. The protesters were confronted by Buddhists for three hours.
Nakarin Shinworakomol The Nation
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