Blast kills man in Yala; Pattani bomb hurts 3 monks, 6 others

The monks from Khajorn Pracharam Temple, guarded by the three officers, were on an alms-begging round, Pol Colonel Somporn Meesuk, superintendent of Pattani Police Station, said yesterday. 

The three-kilogram bomb, hidden under a flowerpot near Nuch Laundry Shop, was detonated by remote control when the group was about five meters away from it, Col Somporn said. 

The monks were identified as Phra Jin Panichkul, 52, Phra Yongyuth Khaoborisut, 35, and Phra Worapong Sutthipong, 54.

The officers were Pol Corporals Thanom Khonwai, 29, Kampanart Malawan, 28, and Prakarn Chedipeng, 26.

The civilians were Chat Suk-ubol, 72, Chid Suk-ubol, 70, and Yeun Sukhonkhet, 72.

The wounded were rushed to Pattani Hospital.

Police suspect this attack was the handiwork of insurgents bent on creating chaos in the deep South.

Pattani Deputy Governor Lertkiat Wongphopan said the assault on monks and their security officers reflected the militant’s strategy to hit at symbolic targets and discredit Thai security forces.

Since it took place on the route included in the security plan, it was meant to sow disunity in this multicultural society and to attract public attention, he said.

In neighbouring Yala province, an explosion ripped through a shack at a banana plantation in Tambon Wang Phraya of Raman district at 10.45am.

Police found the body of Yako Ya-ngo, 55, in front of the shack. Nearby was a 70-centimetre-deep, 80cm-wide hole left by five-kilometre bomb and pieces of a metal box, an electric wire and a battery.

Police investigators found that Yako, a security volunteer for the district, was inspecting his banana plantation when he stepped on the device and discharged it.

As Yako had been shot at twice before, police believe southern separatists carried out this attack – possibly the group that operated in the district and was led by Kama Chaichana, who was wanted for several national security cases.