Alleged insurgent suspect linked to recent petrol station attacks shot dead
Police say Nasruloh Sama, 37, an alleged insurgent suspect wanted under four warrants and linked to bomb and arson attacks on 11 PTT petrol stations, was killed during an eight-hour shootout as officers and soldiers moved to arrest him in Yala’s Mueang district.
An alleged insurgent leader suspected of being linked to coordinated bomb and arson attacks on 11 PTT petrol stations in Thailand’s deep South was killed while resisting arrest in Yala on Tuesday morning.
Pol Lt Gen Piyawat Chalermsri, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 9, said Nasruloh Sama, 37, was killed during an eight-hour shootout with police and soldiers at a house in Ban Pohyani village, tambon Sateng Nok, Mueang district, Yala.
Nasruloh’s death prompted police and the Fourth Army Area to step up security in the three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat amid fears of reprisals by insurgent groups.
Piyawat said police tracked Nasruloh to the house and coordinated with soldiers and Interior Ministry officials to surround the property in an attempt to arrest him.
After the prolonged gunfight, authorities found the suspect dead inside the house, with a rifle nearby, he said.
Piyawat said Nasruloh was suspected of involvement in the coordinated bomb and arson attacks on 11 PTT petrol stations in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat on January 11.
He said shots were first exchanged about 20 minutes after midnight and again at 3.50am.
Authorities later enlisted religious and community leaders to try to negotiate the suspect’s surrender, but without success. The fighting continued for about eight hours before the shooting stopped and Nasruloh was found dead.
Piyawat said Nasruloh was wanted under four arrest warrants, including one case linked to the ambush and killing of 15 village defence volunteers and a couple in 2019.
