Militants derail train

Published on October 28, 2005 - Security forces shocked, but intelligence suggests terror campaign will be stepped up in deep South once Ramadan is over. Militants stepped up their assaults yesterday, derailing a northbound passenger train with powerful explosives less than a day after launching raids in 63 locations and stealing at least 92 government-issued weapons.

Miraculously, the derailing injured only one of the 100-plus passengers.

Explosives have been planted on rail tracks before but yesterday’s incident marks the first time a bomb has targeted a moving train.

The incident came as a shock to security agencies and set off growing fears that more public places would be targeted in the future.

The train had just departed Sungai Kolok station and was slowly picking up speed when two of the four bombs exploded simultaneously, authorities said. The other two failed to go off.

Panicking passengers were said to have jumped from the train.

The rail link, which will take at least a day to repair, is the main transport route connecting the deep South to the rest of the country.

Director of the Southern Region’s Rail Authority of Thailand, Thanongsak Phongprasert, said the train service would not resume until bomb squads and the military have thoroughly swept the area.

Unlike other bomb attacks in the region, the two simultaneous explosions were believed to have been set off by detonators linked to the bombs by wires, officials said.

The incident came less than a day after scores of insurgents launched coordinated attacks across some 20 districts in the three southernmost provinces. At least five people, including one of the insurgents, were killed during Wednesday night’s offensive.

Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura said an intelligence report indicated that the insurgents were planning to step up their activities at the end of Ramadan.

“We have been aware of their plans, but we’re not able to cover all of the places on the ground,” Thamarak said.

Meanwhile, in Tak Bai district, two young men were injured in a roadside attack that took place yesterday.

Thanapol Keowkhem, 24, and Mathayom 3 student Kritsanu Lukchan, 15, were riding a motorbike home from Sungai Padi Mathayom School when two gunmen approached them on a motorbike and opened fire with a nine-millimetre pistol. Kritsanu sustained injuries to his shoulder, arm and leg while Thanapol was severely injured by a bullet, which hit him in the back. Both were sent to a local hospital.

Kritsanu said he could remember both gunmen’s faces. Police believe insurgents are behind the attack.

In Yala’s Betong district, a roadside shelter was set on fire at about 3am yesterday morning. No one was injured.

At around the same time, two gunmen opened fire with an M-16 assault rifle firing four rounds at the base of the 103 taskforce. A short gunfight ensued before the gunmen fled.

Meanwhile, a fake bomb was found in the middle of a road in the Ban Mala area of Betong yesterday morning. Bomb-disposal units examined the item – a brown box placed inside a black garbage bag – and found that it contained sand, a can of fruit and an alarm clock set for 9am.

The Nation
Narathiwat