‘Revenge’ attack kills one, injures 5 others in Yala

The attack also coincided with 12th anniversary of the bloody Krue Se incident in Pattani province, when 32 people were killed in the historic Krue Se mosque after a wave of attacks swept the deep South and April 28, 2004.

Rangers yesterday were helping a local resident in Yala’s Yaha district with renovations when a homemade bomb stored inside a cooking gas cylinder exploded, police said. The bomb is believed to have been detonated remotely using radio-communication equipment. 

Sergeant Tuan-aguchi Bonban was killed on the spot while five other soldiers were injured and admitted to hospital. 

Colonel Thanut Pisansithiwat, commander of the 47th ranger taskforce, said the attack might have been in response to the arrest of prime suspect Abdulrohi Saniming, aka “Poh Long”, a few days ago. 

“We know who is behind this blast and we will find them,” he said. 

Meanwhile, in Pattani province police inspected a crime scene in Yarang district where a drive-by shooting on Wednesday night killed a man and injured his wife. Chirasak Insri, a tractor driver, was shot dead while he and his wife Wannapa Asaipol were riding a motorbike on road No 410. A man drove by them on another motorbike, shot at them and fled from the scene. 

Police said they still had no clues about the attacker’s identity. 

In Narathiwat province, security agencies were on high alert yesterday in preparation for the anniversary of the Krue Se incident. Officials were instructed to perform stringent inspections of people at every checkpoint in the province. 

Insurgents resumed carrying out attacks in the predominantly Muslim region in 2004, and since then more than 6,500 people have been killed. Authorities in Bangkok have struggled to hold peace talks but have failed to establish any progress so far.