Suspected insurgents shot dead a female petrol-station employee in Pattani’s Khok Pho district yesterday afternoon and then set off two home-made bombs, injuring seven people, as state officers responded to the shooting.
Around 20 minutes after Teerapat Chantharojwong, 31, was shot at around 12.40pm by four gunmen on two motorcycles, police officers were inspecting the scene in Tambon Bang Kora when the bombs – one in metal pipe, another in a cooking gas cylinder placed on a shelf at a building materials shop – went off.
The blast injured four policemen, two paramilitary ranger volunteers and one civilian.
The injured were Police Senior Sgt-Major Nimit Boonthaworn, 47, Police Lance Corporals Mayunan Hemtam, 21, Ratthapol Phetchkan, 25, and Nawapol Kongsaman, 23; paramilitary ranger volunteers Wattana Ritphu, 24, and Kittipong Wanchidnai, 31, and female civilian Chayanan Intharat, 27.
It was reported that paramilitary ranger volunteers arrived at the scene while the suspects were still there and shot and wounded one suspect who was riding pillion.
Pattani police chief Pol Maj-General Thanongsak Wangsupa instructed officers to search hospitals and medical facilities in Pattani as well as nearby areas for the wounded suspect.
In another deadly attack in the deep South, 10 insurgents opened fire on three defence volunteers in front of Ban Luboh Luasong School in Tambon Munoh of Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district at 11am yesterday, killing one person and injuring two others.
Police said the insurgents arrived on five motorcycles. The pillion riders opened fire on the three defence volunteers with AK-47 assault rifles.
The insurgents also snatched the volunteers’ M16 assault rifle and two AK-47s before fleeing.
The dead volunteer was identified as Usman Rupae.
Volunteer Surin Laesuk suffered a gunshot wound to his left thigh while his colleague Maroseudi Tatuleh was hit in his right shoulder. Police removed 60 spent cartridges from the scene.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan revealed that the list of names for a 13-strong “front command Cabinet” to tackle the unrest in the deep South was ready and awaiting the signature of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
In Narathiwat’s Muang district, 471 marines from eastern Thailand attended a ceremony to report for duty in the deep South after arriving in three landing ships – HTMS Angthong, Sichang and Man Nai – at the beach-front pavilion of Chulaborn Military Camp yesterday morning.
