Police suspect that a group of insurgents, led by Hubaideela Rommeulee, was behind the attack, as the area where the attack took place is their turf.

Yala police chief Maj-General Itthipol Atchariyapradit ordered police teams to inspect target areas in the hunt for the culprits.

The attack happened around 10am while seven policemen were travelling on two pickup trucks on a road in Ban Benya Moo 1 ville in Tambon Purong. They were gathering intelligence in the area about insurgents as well as a drug-trafficking ring.

Police said the home-made bomb directly hit one truck, hurling it into the air and breaking it in two.

Corporal Natthapong Chatdam, 28, Lance Corporal Suriya Noonim, 32, and Lance Corporal Atthapol Luathep died at the scene. Corporal Siriwat Yotha, 30, and Lance Corporal Nareubet Meunnoi, 25, were seriously wounded.

Following the explosion, a group of at least seven insurgents opened fire at the two police officers in the other truck as other insurgents stole three M16 rifles and three pistols from the slain officers before fleeing.

The blast crater was about four metres wide and one metre deep. The bomb was encased in a 15kg cooking cylinder, with an electronic circuit panel and 100 metres of electrical wire found at the scene.

It is estimated the bomb weighed 80 kilograms and was planted in a water pipe under the road.

 

The deputy minister will be tasked with overseeing the integration of plans and quickly allocate funds for national security, while the rest of the team – retired officials familiar with the deep South – will communicate directly with Prayut.

The PM declined to identify who will take up this task and called on the media to offer suggestions.

This team, being considered by Deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan pending Prayut‘s final decision, will work with the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC) and the Internal Security Operations Command.

Its aim is to tackle unrest quickly and concretely using nine strategies, including peace talks with separatists. This will also help the public see that the government is giving importance to the southern unrest, Prayut said.

The PM also called on the media not to play up the claim by Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) of responsibility for the bombings in seven tourist destinations on August 11 and 12, as it would boost their credibility.

“Why didn’t they claim responsibility right after the attacks, as it is done in other parts of the world? When the media pressure the government, they [the separatists] use violence to counter that. That does not kill members of the media, but residents in the South,” he said.

Earlier, National Security Council secretary-general General Thaweep Netrniyom said people should not believe reports of BRN taking responsibility for the August bombings because the group normally never takes responsibility for attacks.

Meanwhile, deputy police chief Pol General Srivara Rangsipramanakul, who led the probe into the August bombings, said although the suspect in the Trang arson, Abdul-Kadae Salae, had links to unrest in the south, neither he nor five other suspects had been found to have ties with BRN or its military wing Runda Kumpulan Kecil. He said the six men were among 20 involved in the August attacks.

Bomb-making material – including two phones, three assembled circuits, eight relay switches and two gas canisters – were seized yesterday in Yaha in Yala. The materials could reportedly make up to five bombs.

Meanwhile, Cabinet yesterday approved the appointment of SBPAC deputy chief Supanat Sirantawineti |to succeed his boss Panu Uthairat, who will retire at the end this month, a government spokesman said.

Lt-Colonel Chalach Sriwichien, commander of the 47th Ranger Regiment’s Special Task Force, said this stemmed from the September 7 arrest of suspect Lahri Salae, 36.

Two previous raids under the regiment’s “Uyong-Sungae” plan had uncovered items including 3 gallons of urea fertilisers, along with four HK-33 rifles, one AK-47 rifle and one shotgun – the six guns that were allegedly used in previous attacks, he added.

Thanongsak Pongprasert, deputy governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said yesterday that a train, without passengers, would undertake a test run from Hat Yai to Sungai Kolok.

The explosion in Pattani’s Khok Pho district on September 3 derailed a passing train and destroyed much of its rear carriage. One SRT employee was killed and three people were wounded.

The train had left Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district headed for Songkhla’s Hat Yai district.

Hundreds of Khok Pho residents rallied against the violence in the southernmost provinces and prayed for peace yesterday.

The residents, including Muslim leaders, gathered at Khok Pho Train Station, recited a Muslim prayer for peace and expressed their opposition to bloodshed.

In Narathiwat’s Rusoh district, two unidentified gunmen went to a house at around 5am and fired from an M-16 assault rifle at Maro-ning Dolohnideh, 53, and his wife Aesoh Jeh-a-sae, 52.

The husband died at the scene from a shot in the chest. Aesoh was hit in the stomach and was in critical condition.

Three spent rifle cartridges were found at the scene.

The assailants knocked at the door and when the husband opened it, they shot him twice, police said.

They then entered the house and shot the wife in the bedroom. Police suspect a personal conflict behind the attack.

 

However, in confirming the talks yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said the talks would not result in the signing of any concrete agreement or Terms of Reference (TOR) required to kick-start an official peace process.

He said the Thai authorities would first try to prevent and reduce violent incidents in the South before progressing to the TOR signing.

Arson attacks and bombings in Prachuap Khiri Khan and six other provinces on August 11 and 12 claimed four lives, and last week a car bomb in Pattani caused two more deaths. While analysts believe insurgents might have expanded their campaign last month to strike in the seven upper provinces, Thai authorities have so far been reluctant to link the deep South insurgency to these attacks.

Arrest warrants sought for three insurgents

However, police have applied for arrest warrants for three men from the restive region.

Prawit also said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to Thailand on September 9 would see the signing of an agreement to solve the issue of people with dual nationality.

He said the authorities would then examine how to make such individuals choose one nationality rather than holding onto both.

 

Srivara is in charge of the probe into the attacks in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district and Trang, Phuket, Surat Thani, Phang Nga, Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces which killed four people and injured dozens more.

He said the probe had progressed beyond 50 per cent with three arrest warrants issued.

He said the three wanted men were believed to be hiding in Southern border provinces.

His team would check the scenes of the arson attacks in Krabi and Trang where cellphone and power bank fragments were found, leading investigators to determine they were fire bombs.

“If there was clear evidence, we would also apply for more military court-issued arrest warrants for all the provinces,” he said adding that the investigations in Hua Hin and Trang had progressed the most and only official confirmations were needed to conclude them.

THE COMMANDER of the Fourth Army Region, Lt-General Wiwat Pathompak, has ordered officers to hunt for a milk-delivery pickup hijacked by six armed men at a school in Pattani’s Sai Buri district on Tuesday afternoon, with concerns it might be used in a car bombing.

Colonel Yutthanam Petchmuang, deputy spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4’s Forward Command, said security officers suspected the theft, which occurred in front of Ban Chamao Samton School, could have been a generic crime to be investigated by police rather than related to the ongoing insurgency.

Wiwat called a meeting on Tuesday evening to organise efforts to locate the Isuzu pickup as well as improve security in the area. Members of the public were also urged to look for the pickup, which belongs to Abdul-baka Malaya and has a Pattani-registered licence plate number Bor Thor 1426.

Sai Buri district chief Om Chualaem also announced a Bt100,000 reward for anyone providing information leading to the vehicle’s recovery.

As Malaysia celebrated its Independence Day yesterday, coinciding with the anniversary of the establishment of the Bersatu separatist group, Songkhla police joined navy officers to set up checkpoints at the four corners of Muang city.

They screened motorcycles and cars coming into the city for explosives, weapons and drugs. Muang Songkhla superintendent Pol Colonel Alongkorn Srimawuth said that with the influx of Malaysians celebrating the August 31 holiday, the checkpoints would help visitors feel more secure.

Separately, suspected insurgents set off a roadside bomb that was allegedly targeting a team of paramilitary rangers returning to their base camp from a “sports day” event at a local school in Narathiwat’s Joh I Rong district yesterday. There were no casualties in the attack, which took place at 2.30pm on Jaru Sathien Road in Tambon Mareu Book.

Police and bomb squad personnel found a power pole damaged at the site and collected fragments that indicated that the bomb was a homemade explosive attached to a 20-kilogram cooking gas cylinder detonated with a walkie-talkie.

Investigators said rangers from 48th Ranger Regiment were returning from the school in two six-wheel trucks with a pickup truck escort when insurgents detonated the bomb.

MALAYSIA has agreed to provide assistance to track down suspects in the deadly bomb and arson attacks in Prachuap Khiri Khan and six Southern provinces this month and will sign a memorandum of understanding that aims to solve the insurgency in Thailand’s deep South, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday.

The development came as a military court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Pattani resident Asmin Katemmadee in connection with a bomb attack in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district on Mother’s Day.

Prawit told reporters upon his arrival in Thailand from meeting with Malaysian officials in Kuala Lumpur that the memorandum, covering border cooperation, trans-border crime and people with dual citizenship, would be signed when Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak visited Thailand on September 9.

Malaysia is also willing to help investigate Malaysian SIM cards found at the scenes of the bomb attacks in the seven provinces, he said.

Asmin is one of three alleged perpetrators of the Hua Hin bomb attacks, according to deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul.

Last week, the military court issued an arrest warrant for Russaran Baima, a resident of Songkhla province, in relation to the Hua Hin attacks and police were looking for another suspect who was on the run, Srivara said.

Authorities struggling

Authorities have been struggling to apprehend the suspects who orchestrated the attacks in the seven provinces on August 11 and 12, which killed four people and wounded more than 30.

Asmin, 29, is also wanted in connection with violence in the southernmost Yala province in April and a bomb attack at a shopping mall in Surat Thani’s Koh Samui in May last year.

Srivara said the attacks in the seven provinces were probably carried out by the same group. He said the group was divided into several teams with a few members on each team.

He said suspects acted professionally but it was hard to say whether the attacks mirrored the ongoing violence in the deep South.

Other analysts have said the deep South separatists, notably the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, have expanded their operations to the upper South and the capital to increase their bargaining power in the peace process.

Violence in the deep South has claimed more than 6,000 lives since attacks resumed in early 2004 and authorities are struggling to contain in the violence. Peace talks between authorities in Bangkok and separatists have not yet started.

The first arrest warrant in the wake of the recent attacks was for Ahama Lengha, a resident of Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district, for allegedly planting a bomb in Phuket’s Patong resort area.

Police do not have clear information on where the suspects are hiding but believe they are still in the Kingdom. Other sources said some of them including Ahama were on the run in Malaysia.

Investigations into the six other attacks, including the first explosion in Trang’s Muang district that killed one person and injured seven others, have made little progress.

Provincial police said there might be four suspects involved in the Trang attack, citing evidence obtained from closed-circuit television cameras near the scene. The military has arrested one suspect since August 23 and police are collecting evidence and seeking and arrest warrant to extend his detention for further investigation.

THE GOVERNMENT will not make any peace deals with separatists in the deep South as long as violence persists in the predominantly Muslim region, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday after new bombings rocked Pattani on Tuesday night.

The attacks, including one at a hotel that killed one person and injured 30, took place only 10 days after the spate of bomb and arson attacks in Prachuap Khiri Khan and six upper southern provinces killed four and injured more than 30 others including foreigners.

Officials and representatives of the southern separatist umbrella group Mara Patani reportedly were scheduled to meet to set the terms of reference for peace talks early next month.

Prawit said relative calm should be restored in the region before talks – official or otherwise – could proceed. He added that he did not know if the Malaysia-brokered peace dialogue would be postponed, as the leader of the Thai team, General Aksara Kerdphol, was still investigating the recent Pattani hotel bombing.

Prawit said the three recent bombings in Pattani were probably not linked to the series of bombings on August 12 targeting tourist areas, including Phuket, Koh Samui and Hua Hin.

“In the face of such restive activity, I would have security officers strictly oversee the region and implement public safety measures,” he said.

He added that security officers from central agencies would be dispatched to provide urgent support to locally stationed Army and police forces as well as to evaluate whether security measures needed to be adjusted.

Prawit also said he was scheduled to visit Malaysia by the end of this month to talk to his Malaysian counterpart about border issues, including the construction of fences and bridges as well as problems related to dual-nationality citizens.

Asked if plans for a partial withdrawal of forces from the deep South in October would proceed, he said the newly established 15th infantry division and the 5th infantry division should be able to handle the situation.

Aksara yesterday said the September 2 talks with separatists were uncertain pending a subcommittee report on the preparedness of the Thai team and the approval of Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha and the National Security Council.

After the first explosion, which did not cause any injuries, at 11pm on Tuesday night at a carpark behind the Southern View Pattani Hotel, another bomb – loaded in an ambulance belonging to Tambon Pakaharang Health Promotion Hospital – was detonated in front of the hotel about 100 metres from the first attack. That bomb resulted in 31 people being injured, including Orapan Sriruenhut, 35, a resident of Ubon Ratchathani province, who was pronounced dead at hospital.

A source from the bomb disposal team said the vehicle bomb was equipped with two home-made time bombs attached to two gas cylinders weighing totally 160kg, which were placed in the front seat of the ambulance.

The explosion also caused damage to 10 nearby shophouses and vehicles parked at the site, as well as the front windows and doors of the eight-storey hotel. A third blast later occurred in front of a fresh market in Tambon Bo Thong of Nong Chik district, but no one was injured.

Meanwhile, Public Health permanent secretary Dr Sopon Mekthon said the two drivers of the ambulance used in the vehicle-bomb attack had claimed they had lost the keys to the vehicle. He also said six of the 30 injured victims had required surgery and one was in critical condition as of press time.

National Human Right Commission chairman What Tingsamitr condemned the vehicle bombing and urged all parties to help to prevent terrorism in the deep South.

Meanwhile, the Cross-Cultural Foundation issued a statement offering condolences to Orapan’s family and the injured victims. The foundation added that that the arrests of suspects for the August 12 attacks and the upcoming peace dialogue might prompt some insurgent groups to launch attacks to demonstrate to the government and general public their capability to wreak violence.

 

Several of the victims sustained serious life-threatening injuries, including one victim whose brain was pierced by shrapnel, another whose eye was injured and two others who suffered severe intestinal injuries.

“I beg you, please don’t use an ambulance or medical tool to create violence. People shouldn’t use things for saving human life to destroy others. This is a very shameful action,” he said.

He said the ministry would fully cooperate with the investigation into the bombing and how the ambulance was taken to use as a car bomb.

Public Health permanent secretary Dr Sopon Mekthon said two drivers of the patient-referral ambulance of Tambon Pakaharang Health Promotion Hospital initially claimed they had lost the keys to the vehicle.

Pattani public health official Dr Banjerd Sukpipatpanont said that 15 of the injured remained in hospital as of press time. Four were in serious condition.

The blast caused damage to a number of properties and vehicles but no one was hurt.

Witnesses told police that a young man parked the motorcycle in front of the two-storey shop at about 4.30am and casually walked away.

About 30 minutes later the bomb exploded, damaging the latex shop, five homes and five vehicles.

Police believe a 20kg cooking-cylinder bomb was detonated by a radio detonator.

Meanwhile, the Narathiwat Provincial Electricity Authority quickly repaired 19 power poles in nine districts in the province that were damaged by small bombs on Saturday night, so affected residents had power restored yesterday morning.