Two suspected insurgents killed in shootout
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TWO SUSPECTED insurgents were killed in a gunfight in Yala's Muang district yesterday, as security forces surrounded a Ban Kubae Jeunoh rubber plantation in Tambon Pohseng, following a tip-off that armed men were hiding there.
The 30-minute gunfight erupted at 5.40am after rangers and police confronted three to five armed men. The suspected insurgents refused to surrender and then opened fire. Two bodies were later found after the remaining suspects fled the scene. Only one of the bodies has so far been identified – 19-year-old Muhammad Ayi Tayeh. A 9mm pistol, one AKA rifle and a shotgun were also found at the scene.
An initial police probe found that the armed men were insurgent sympathisers linked to the group led by Ubaideela Rommeulee and Abe Jeh-ali – key members of the RKK (Runda Kumpulan Kecil). It is believed the armed men supplied food and information on the movement of state officials to RKK members.
In Pattani's Nong Chik district, Fourth Army Area Command chief Lt-General Sakol Chuentrakool yesterday presided over bathing rites at Wat Suwannakorn for Master Sergeant First-Class Somkuan Kaewdee and Sergeant Cherd Srichamnong, who were killed in Saturday’s bomb attack in Khok Pho district. After the ceremony, Somkuan's body was sent back to his home in Khon Kaen, while Cherd’s body was sent to his home in Loei.
