Probe into car bomb at Sungai Kolok

at a car bomb in Sungai Kolok - because the explosive was hidden in a vehicle that went through a checkpoint with a bomb detection machine.

There were tense inquiries yesterday into the attack on Tuesday but few could explain how the militants were able to get through security blocks and drive into the heart of the border town, which has a more security officials than other towns in the region.

Lt General Sirikorn Srisiri, commander of the Civilian-Police-Military Command in the region, said authorities were investigating why the GT200 bomb detector hadn't worked. But he did not rule out human error.

He said a bomb squad had been dispatched to inspect the parked vehicle but the bomb went off before they had reached the area.

Suspected insurgents detonated the bomb on Tuesday moments after attacking three restaurants full of people with bombs and automatic rifles. Four people were killed and 11 injured.

A Muslim woman died in hospital yesterday while five others who were injured are still in hospital. All six were victims of the car bomb, which injured nearly 30 people all up.

Separately, in Pattani yesterday, gunmen shot dead a 47-year-old deputy village chief, a day after killing a 38-year-old Muslim as he drove his son to school.

Suthep said he would travel to the deep South next week to inspect to security situation.

Army spokesman Colonel Parinya Chaidilok said the car bomb occurred in front of a local hotel and damaged eight other vehicles and six nearby shops. The bomb was packed in a canister for natural gas that weighted about 50 kilogrammes.

Police said they had identified the owner of the car in which the bomb was planted.

Authorities also surrounded seven villages in Tambon Pasemas in Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district after a tip-off that some of the militants behind the car bomb lived in the village. But no suspect was detained.