Former tambon official shot dead in far South

Following a report of a homicide at 4.30pm, police found the bullet-ridden body of former Tambon Lalo TAO vice president Halibaha Salae, 38, in front of his mother’s home. A police investigation found that he had been visiting his mother and was about to leave for home when two or three gunmen on a pick-up truck parked opposite the house and shot at him with M16 and AKA rifles, before fleeing. 

After receiving intelligence that insurgents had stashed some weapons on a rubber plantation in Rusoh district, a 100-strong combined security force at raided the plantation at 1 pm. Using metal detectors, they dug up two M16 rifles, one AKA rifle and over 500 bullets as well as 16 green scarves similar to those worn by the attackers of a military post in Ra-Ngae district recently. The weapons were reportedly buried by suspected insurgents planning to create violence during the New Year holidays in Rusoh and Raman districts.