Narathiwat outpost raided as part of new insurgent strategy
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Two defence volunteers were killed and four assault rifles stolen in an attack on a security outpost in Narathiwat last night.
It is believed that insurgents have been ordered to target armed security officials and seize their weapons.
The two victims, who had stayed behind after two of their companions had gone for nightly prayers, were attacked by four men on two motorcycles who opened fire at them, killing one immediately and fatally wounding another. The second victim was pronounced dead later in hospital.
The attackers then snatched four assault rifles and fled, in what is believed to be a new strategy among insurgent groups.
A team of police officers inspecting the site found and neutralised two homemade bombs housed in pesticide cans. Authorities are warning people to look out for suspicious looking cans, fire extinguishers and water pipes because insurgents are using these inconspicuous objects to hide bombs and landmines.
Military spokesman Colonel Pramote Phromin said security has been boosted further, especially since the latest attack took place in an area regarded as being of low interest to insurgents.
Meanwhile, paramilitary ranger Chakhrit Oenewngarm, who was pronounced dead after a motorcycle bomb attack in Pattani on Monday, has been resuscitated, doctors at the Yala hospital said. Though initial medical records show that Chakhrit did not have a pulse when he was brought to the emergency room, the hospital has not provided details about how he was brought back to life.
In separate news, a group of Muslim lawyers based in Yala yesterday petitioned Southern Border Province Administrative Centre to look into the deaths of three Muslim men who were shot dead by security officials on April 19. They said that this is because judging from new evidence and their parents’ testimony, the three men were not insurgents.
Saroj Maming, leader of the lawyers' group, said a fair and transparent probe into the deaths could be useful in the reconciliation process and the efforts to bring peace and justice to the deep South.
