Two policemen hurt in Yala bomb attack

The explosion occurred at around 8am when Pol Sergeant Alongkorn Insrikrai and Pol Corporal Sarawut Chaiprasert were riding a motorcycle along a rural road in tambon Lam Mai. They were returning to the Lam Mai Police Station after completing their security shift at Ban Thung Kha School.

Another bomb explosion took place a few hours later in the Ban Tao Poon School compound in Yala’s Bannang Sata district at 10.25am, seriously wounding security volunteer Pitak Phrommet. Since the bomb exploded near the school fence during class hours, no teachers or students were harmed. Police blamed separatists for this attack, particularly leading operative-level member Sakariya Hayisamoh, who is wanted in several national security cases. 

In Pattani’s Muang district, two other soldiers providing protection to teachers also sustained injuries from a bomb attack at around 8am. 

Several teacher-protection teams have been attacked in the deep South, with the worst so far being the explosion on July 24 in Narathiwat’s Chanae district, which killed two female teachers. Boonsom Thongsriprai, chairman of the Confederation of Teachers of the Three Southern Border Provinces, has called on Thai authorities to re-assess their security measures and boost the quality of intelligence units.