Officials kill suspected bombmaker in Narathiwat

The dead man was identified as Sukree Porheng, 30. He was wanted on charges of making bombs used in numerous violent incidents in the deep South.
Found near his body yesterday were two guns stolen from a military base in a bloody 2011 raid that left four soldiers dead.
Sukree’s 21-year-old wife, Nuraiha Panoh, said her husband had just returned from Malaysia. She denied knowing that he was a bomb-maker.
At press time, the three suspects were being detained and questioned at the 46th Ranger Regiment.
The regiment’s chief, Colonel Paisan Noosang, said arrest warrants had been issued for 20 other suspects in his area, adding that security officials would continue to work hard to track them down.
About 50 security officials surrounded the house in Ailakor Nai village at dawn yesterday in response to a tip-off that a suspicious man was hiding at a house at the foot of a hill. As the forces approached the house, Sukree allegedly opened fire. He then jumped from a window and ran into an orchard behind the house. The firefight lasted about 10 minutes and when it ceased, officers examined the scene and found Sukree’s body.
In a related development, unknown gunmen ambushed a group of soldiers on a forest road in Si Sakhon district.
“We were conducting a patrol when our vehicle was suddenly hit by a hail of gunfire. I ordered the driver to speed up to find some cover nearby, and then we shot back,” said Captain Pongsakorn Sua-garn from the Narathiwat 37 taskforce.
The pickup was riddled with bullet holes, but there were no casualties from the attack.