DEEP SOUTH
Raid nabs 7 suspected militants
Seven suspected insurgents squat outside their rented house in Yala’s Muang district after they were arrested in a raid on their home by police and soldiers. Security officials said the AK47 assault rifle in the foreground was seized from the house along
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One suspect was wanted for murder of school director; automatic rifle seized
Security officials arrested seven suspected militants yesterday and seized an automatic assault rifle and other items believed to have been used in attacks in the region. Task Force 15 soldiers and police raided a Muang district house rented by the group. The weapon seized was an AK47 with 30 rounds of ammunition. Eight mobile phones, nine bank passbooks, photographs of public places and buildings in Yala municipality, five motorcycles and one car were also seized. Four of the suspects are Yala residents and the others are from Pattani. One, Abdullah Baheh, 25, is wanted in connection with the murders of a school director and a woman in Yala in December last year and April this year, investigators said. The suspects are aged between 25 and 29. Drug tests revealed the use of methamphetamine and marijuana, police said. All of them deny involvement in insurgent attacks. Muang district police chief Colonel Phumephet Pipatphet-phume said officials believed the suspects were gathering to prepare an attack in Yala municipality. Meanwhile, in Narathiwat province, a gunman shot dead a 16-year-old boy at a grocery store in Tak Bai district yesterday. The victim's father Payon Thongkupt, 47, a teacher at Tak Bai School, believed he was the intended target. Earlier yesterday, fire broke out at Baan Sripa-ngan School. Police suspect arson. One building was destroyed. In a related development, Yala Governor Teera Mintrasak yesterday said he would meet with all village headmen on Thursday to discuss tighter security for schools. Task Force 1 commander Colonel Shinawat Maendej said yesterday all security units remained on maximum alert. Insurgent attacks on civilian and government property are feared and security at checkpoints have been stepped up on the Yala-Betong highway, the main road for four border districts.
The Nation Yala
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