The Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc) is adjusting its security plan in the South following the recent announcement of troop withdrawals from the area. Footage from the cameras would also be accessed by the Royal Thai Army Special Operation Centre, said Isoc spokesman Colonel Peerawat Saengthong yesterday.

The move is to support the withdrawal of several battalions of the Third Army Region and the First Army Region planned for the October redeployment. Each battalion has 184 soldiers.

After the redeployment, seven Army battalions will remain in the deep South along with 12 regiments of rangers.

Peerawat said 14,756 CCTV cameras would be installed in the region, including 6,624 to be installed at schools in line with the Education Ministry’s request.

He said the camera installations and the data linkages from the district, province and Isoc Region 4 Forward Command levels to the Royal Thai Army Special Operations Centre are nearly 100 per cent complete while officers are also being trained to monitor them continuously.

Peearawat also revealed the names of the 17 members of the committee that will select the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC)’s advisory board members. The committee members will also set the criteria and timeframe for the selection of the 45 advisory board members, which will be approved by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, he added.

The selecting committee members included General Kitti Intharasorn as panel chairman, former deputy minister Banyat Chansena as deputy chair and the commander of the 4th Region Army, Lt-General Ruangsak Suwannakha, as another deputy chair.

In a separate matter, Peerawat said authorities had not found the two Malaysian bombers wanted for the June 28 attack on the Movida nightclub in Malaysia’s Selangor state, which left eight people injured.

Thai authorities were alerted by their Malaysian counterparts to look for two suspects from Johor state after they reportedly fled to Thailand via Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok border crossing.

Meanwhile, a motorcycle bomb reportedly targeting an armoured vehicle belonging to Narathiwat’s Sri Sakhon district chief Kotchakorn Raksasorn detonated as the district chief left a monthly meeting of kamnans and village headmen at a defence volunteer base near Sri Sakhon Police Station yesterday afternoon.

The blast slightly injured eight people including 59-year-old Kotchakorn, district clerk Waesama-ae Jeh-heh, 42, five defence volunteers and one civilian, Anat Niotabtim. The motorcycle was reported missing on June 12, 2014 by its owner Sunit Thaemuk.

Police said the attack was carried out by “ill-intentioned people to assassinate a district chief ahead of the August 7 constitution referendum and to create disruption in the area”, a source said.

The policemen were injured in the first explosion at about 7am in Ban Daru Moo 3 in Tambon Than Khiri.

Five minutes later a female riding by on a bicycle, Koliyoh Sosasor, 57, was slightly hurt by a blast in the middle of Kabang-Sabayoi Road in Tambon Kabang’s Ban Bannang Dama, just a kilometre from the first incident. It was suspected that the second bomb was intended to injure officials responding to the first incident.

At 8pm in Khok Pho, two defence volunteers guarding Solihiyah School in Ban Koh Ta Moo 3 were slightly injured by an explosion in front of the school. No teachers or students were hurt, although the school immediately closed for the day as a precaution.

Meanwhile, national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda revealed yesterday that the intelligence agency had warned of attacks in the three southernmost provinces, especially in Narathiwat’s Jor I Rong and Sungai Kolok districts ahead of the August 7 constitutional referendum and throughout this month.

He said the predicted attacks would target state officers and might be carried out by two groups, those linked to local political powers and usual insurgent groups.

He said recent incidents of people spraying messages against the charter vote and audio clips in the region about the draft were being checked. He admitted probes into the incidents would be tough as officers also need to watch out for unrest.

Yala’s Muang district had the highest number of fatalities with four deaths, while Pattani’s Nong Chik district reported the highest number of injured persons at 22. Muang Pattani, meanwhile, topped the list with five violent incidents during the holy month from June 7 to July 2, the centre’s Deep South Incident Database team said.

The team said 24 of the incidents were considered an attack on national security, which resulted in three deaths and 37 injuries; eight other attacks that claimed six lives and wounded five others were said to be general crimes; while 17 incidents that resulted in 13 deaths and five injuries were under investigation. Shootings were the most common method with 28 incidents, followed by bombings at 16 and arson at three.

Four security officers or volunteers, also known as “hard targets”, were killed and 24 injured, while two insurgents were shot dead. The first 10 days of Ramadan saw 15 incidents with five deaths and 24 injuries, the second 10 days saw 19 incidents with five deaths and 11 injuries, and the third period saw 15 incidents with 12 deaths and 12 injuries.

DOZENS of violent incidents have rocked the Deep South during the holy month of Ramadan in a bid to discredit the military government, but the attacks were not linked to the Islamic State (IS), Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday, despite an increase in violence orchestrated by the group in Southeast Asia.

At least two fatal attacks were reported yesterday, including a car-bomb attack against police at a checkpoint in Pattani and the shooting death of a civilian woman, as the Ramadan festival concluded.

“But it should be noted that such attacks did not happen in towns, reflecting that perpetrators were not able to cause such violence in strictly controlled areas,” Prawit said.

Thailand was not a target of the terrorist group. “No, IS is not active here,” he said.

A suicide bomber also detonated an explosive device in front of the Surakarta Police headquarters in central Java yesterday, injuring a police officer, officials said.

The suicide bomber, who was later identified as Islamic State supporter Nur Rohman, 30, was reported to have died from injuries sustained during the attack, according to The Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile, The Star reported from Malaysia that an extremist group believed to be IS released a video clip to declare war against Malaysia and Indonesia.

Thailand’s Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) also denied that intensifying violence in the far south was connected to IS, which called for more terror attacks during Ramadan.

“There is no report that IS has conducted any activity in Thailand’s three southern border provinces,” Isoc spokesman Colonel Phirawat Saengthong said.

He added that relevant authorities were monitoring the situation around the clock.

Colonel Yuthanam Petchmuang, a deputy spokesman for the Forward Command of Isoc Region 4, said Thailand had been in contact with Malaysia to coordinate intelligence operations. He said he believed that the neighbouring country was facing threats from IS.

During the past month of Ramadan, 30 violent incidents have rocked the predominantly Muslim South. The attacks claimed 16 lives and injured a further 24 people.

Two of the attacks involved bombs loaded on pickup trucks.

The latest car-bomb attack came yesterday morning at a road checkpoint in Pattani’s Nong Chik district, killing one policeman and injuring two others.

Officials said the explosion was caused by a home-made bomb hidden in a pickup.

The bomb caused a fire that burned down the checkpoint booth.

Pol Corporal Thani Saengsuwan was killed in the blast and his body burnt in the subsequent fire.

Pol Corporal Natthapol Chunu, 28, and Pol Corporal Apichart Taeng-cham, 29, were also injured in the explosion and rushed to a nearby hospital.

The victims were manning a major checkpoint in an area considered a gateway to the deep South.

In the wake of the yesterday’s bomb, Yuthanam dismissed suggestions that the past month was the southern region’s bloodiest Ramadan over the past decade.

Compared with 2015, Ramadan this year registered fewer attacks and fatalities, he said. Last year, 50 attacks took place in the deep South during Ramadan, with 20 people killed and 33 others hurt.

In 2014, 22 violent incidents struck the region, killing 11 victims and injuring 74 others.

In a separate incident in Narathiwat province, a civilian woman, Waewta Chantae, was shot dead yesterday morning. The perpetrators left a note on her body reading: “This is a revenge for government officials’ M79 grenade attack on a mosque.”

Waewta is considered the final casualty of the Ramadan period.

Yala police chief Pol General Ittipol Achariyapradit said someone was trying to discredit authorities.

He said Bannang Sata Police Station, which is opposite a mosque that was attacked, in his province might have been the real target.

“It’s just the grenades did not accurately hit the target,” he said.

On Monday night, an M79 grenade struck a house and a |road in front of the mosque in, injuring three victims, one of them seriously.

 

National police chief General Chakthip Chaijinda, who flew to Pattani yesterday, said the culprits – identified as insurgents based in Nong Chik and Yarang districts – had fled to a neighbouring country’s border area. Jakthip said he would propose a collaborative investigation with Malaysian law enforcement when he visited the country next week.

Pol Sgt-Major Anurak Rakbutr was killed while he was directing traffic at the mosque when the bomb went off in front of a nearby commercial building at about 7pm on Sunday.

The three wounded individuals were Pol Lance Corporal Wichakorn Setthakul, Pol Lance Corporal Surasak Parnsung and civilian bystander Ya Morlor.

Colonel Pramote Promin, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 Forward Command, yesterday condemned the attack and offered condolences to Anurak’s family.

He added that attacks during the last 10 days of Ramadan stemmed from a twisted belief that attacks during the holy period would confer religious benefits in the afterlife.

He said the Fourth Army Region chief had instructed agencies to work hard on such cases and improve security measures, especially in economic zones and at-risk communities.

Suspected ambush

In a case in Yala province, police suspected an insurgent – believed to be a militant from the Amad Leubaesa-led group – may have lured Mahamayuding Puteh and Assuwan Yusoh into a fatal ambush at 1am on Sunday, said Yala police chief Police Maj-General Itthipol Atchariyapradit yesterday.

The two men had fought militants in the area with Pol General Sompien Eksomya, a former Bannang Sata district police chief who was killed in an attack in 2010.

Meanwhile, Tanyongmas railway maintenance inspector Adul Torlaema accompanied by soldiers yesterday assessed the condition of a 100-metre section of railway in Narathiwat’s Ruesoh district blown up in another Sunday bombing.

Repairing the damaged track, located seven kilometres from Balor train station in Yala’s Raman district, would be discussed in a meeting later yesterday with State Railways of Thailand governor Wuttichat Kanlayanamit and railway personnel would be protected by soldiers, Adul said, adding that repairs would take two to three days.

As of yesterday, 14 train services through Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district had been suspended. Commuters were travelling by train to Yala station and then completing their journeys by road transport.

 

The attack tore apart cement sleepers and tracks in about a 20-metre radius but no one was injured as there were no trains in the vicinity at the time.

Manop Muenpreecha, Tanyongmas station chief, said the attack affected six trains running through Sungai Kolok station.

Workers have not yet gone to the scene to fix the damaged tracks because they have to wait for soldiers to clear the area for their safety.

Manop said the repair would take about two days.

Meanwhile, violence in the deep southern province of Yala continued unabated with two people killed in a bomb attack in Bannang Sata district as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan draws to an end.

Many people had expected the situation during Ramadan to be more peaceful but such hopes were disappointed by the killing of Mahamayuding Puteh and Assuwan Yusoh and other attacks in the restive region.

Both men, who were active in fighting militants in the area, were riding a motorcycle on their way home from a mosque when the explosive detonated.

The attack took place at about 1am yesterday, with bomb squads having to wait until 9am before inspecting the scene near a bridge in the district.

Police found a damaged motorcycle as well as debris from a fire extinguisher and electronic circuits.

They estimated that the |explosive used in the attack weighed about 10 kilograms.

Police said the victims were linked to Pol General Sompien Eksomya, a former Bannang Sata police chief killed in an attack in 2010.

Meanwhile, a bomb squad destroyed an explosive using a high-pressure water gun that was found beside an electricity pole near Yaha Crown Prince Hospital in Yala’s Yaha district.

The one-month Ramadan |festival is expected to end |tomorrow, pending an announcement by the Sheikhul Islam Office.

In Narathiwat province, a bomb hidden near a road was triggered in Yi-ngor district on Saturday as a team of 15 soldiers passed on the way back to their base.

The explosion wounded two soldiers who were travelling in the back of the vehicle.

 

A source at a national security agency revealed yesterday that security measures were beefed up following an intelligence alert that such car/motorcycle bombs might target economic zones or Thai-Buddhist communities in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla’s four districts including Hat Yai and Sadao between June 27 and July 6.

“The pick-up truck that tops the watch list is a silver-bronze-coloured Isuzu D-max carrying the licence Bor Ror 7934 Songkhla, which was stolen from Narathiwat’s Reuso district after the truck owner Surachai Nareumalinee was shot dead on June 12, 2013. Another truck on the list is a grey Mitsubishi carrying the licence plate Bor Chor 1306 Pattani, which was stolen from Narathiwat’s Muang district on January 25, 2010.

“We are also looking for a white Toyota Vigo truck with the licence plate Tor Hor 1093 Bangkok that was carjacked on April 22, 2012, and a grey Toyota Vigo truck with licence Sor Yor 6602 Bangkok, after its owner Suchat Suwanchaley was shot and the gunman drove the truck away on June 21, 2012,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the source said that CCTV footage had identified the suspect responsible for the car bomb at Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district. The suspect was identified as alleged insurgent operative Sukiman Kubaru who is believed to have fled to a neighbouring country.

 

An explosion yesterday injured Thanakorn Suandaeng, who was on a team providing security to teachers, near Ban Bang Moo School in Pattani’s Panare district.

Thanakorn suffered a fractured skull, a broken left arm and other injuries. He will be transferred to a better-equipped hospital in nearby Yala province for surgery and further treatment.

Violence has continued unabated in Thailand’s southernmost region for more than one decade, with bloody attacks taking place on almost a daily basis including during the holy month of Ramadan.

Pattani’s police chief Pol Maj-General Tanongsak Wangsupa said attacks seemed to intensify during the last 10 days of Ramadan.

“We will step up security measures,” he said, after several incidents took place in areas under his jurisdiction in the past two days.

On Sunday, a bomb exploded at an ATM in Pattani’s Yarang district at about 7pm. Twenty minutes later, a second bomb detonated at the same spot. Officers cordoned off the area but did not examine the site out of concerns about more bombs.

Another bomb exploded about three kilometres away at 8.15pm the same day, causing minor injuries to a policeman on duty. An arsonist also burnt two vehicles belonging to a construction firm on Sunday night in the province.

Another dud bomb was found in front of a bank in Yarang yesterday morning.

 

The 100-strong raids were conducted at around 3 am in Ban Pong Yeu Rai in Tambon Bannang Sareng and Ban Chalong in Tambon Purong of Krong Penang where Muhammad Yasi, 29, was nabbed.

Muhammad – wanted for a previous case of attempted murder of state officials – was reportedly linked to an insurgent group led by Hubaideelah Romlee, who is active in Yala’s Yaha district. Head of the 41st Ranger Forces Regiment’s special task unit, Colonel Sitthisak Jenbanjong cited Muhammad’s confession that he had launched violent attacks under Hubaideelah’s group.

He was sent to Yala’s 12th Special Task Force for initial interrogation, before entering the justice procedure, an informed source reported. In Muang location, a 25-year-old man was |also brought in for questioning over |suspicion of being an insurgent sympathiser.

 

Yala provincial chief Major Itthipol Atchariyapradit led a team of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) officials to the scene of the attack in Tambon Yaha.

The EOD officers found metal pieces of fish cans used to make the half-kilogram bomb, which was detonated by a timer.

The bomb was placed in a coffee bag and left at the scene.

The four men sustained slight wounds and were discharged from hospital after being treated.

Witnesses said they saw two persons on a motorcycle drop the coffee bag off at the scene. The driver wore white traditional Muslim clothes and a white crash helmet, while the person riding pillion wore black clothes.

After dropping the bag off, they lit a giant firecracker and threw it on the ground, witnesses said.

When a village head and other villagers went to inspect the scene five minutes later, the bomb went off and wounded them.

Officials believe the attack was the work of insurgents.