Bomb kills officer probing blind woman’s murder in Narathiwat

Police in Chanae District, Narathiwat Province, responded to a reported explosion on May 4, 2025, at approximately 1.30pm at a CCTV protection box mounted on a utility pole at an intersection in Ban Ai Lako, Chang Phueak Subdistrict. 

The blast injured three officers from the Narathiwat Provincial Police's Security Investigation Division.

At the scene, authorities found an aluminium ladder leaning against the pole. The CCTV protection box, located about three metres above the ground, had been blown apart by the explosion. Bloodstains and fragments of an improvised explosive device (IED), including an unidentified container and triggering components, were scattered across the area.

Due to continuous rainfall and poor visibility, the area was cordoned off for further investigation scheduled for May 5. 

The injured officers were initially taken to Chanae Hospital. After receiving first aid, they were transferred to Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Hospital for further treatment.

According to the investigation, a team of eight officers had been dispatched to the area to collect evidence related to a shooting that occurred on May 2. In that incident, an assailant shot and killed a blind 76-year-old woman and seriously injured her son on a village road in the same subdistrict.

The explosion occurred while Pol Cpl Phakkaphong Suwanchana climbed the utility pole to retrieve a memory card from the CCTV box, which had become inaccessible due to a technical malfunction at the monitoring centre. As he reached out to open the box, it detonated. 

The blast shattered the box and cracked the utility pole, injuring Phakkaphong and two other officers standing below holding the ladder.

It was later reported that Phakkaphong succumbed to his injuries.

Authorities believe the bombing was the work of insurgent elements operating in the region. CCTV cameras installed nearby reportedly captured suspicious activity believed to be linked to the perpetrators, and security forces are using the footage to expand the investigation and bring those responsible to justice.

According to local security officials, the incident reflects a high level of surveillance and planning by the attackers. It is believed the perpetrators had monitored police routines and knew that officers would access CCTV footage mounted on utility poles following violent incidents. 

Anticipating this, they planted an IED inside the camera control box on the pole, intending to target police when they attempted to retrieve evidence from the camera system.

This method—concealing an IED within a CCTV control box—marks the first known use of such a tactic in the area. Since there had been no precedent for this form of attack, officers had no reason to suspect the box might be booby-trapped and therefore opened it without heightened caution.

Initial investigations suggest that the attack was carried out by the same group responsible for the fatal shooting of a 76-year-old blind woman and the serious injury of her son on May 2. Authorities believe the bombing was a calculated follow-up attack, directly linked to the earlier shooting, and intended to inflict further harm on police investigators.