Road-culvert bomb injures three in Narathiwat, missing police patrol
Suspected insurgents buried a 50kg gas-cylinder bomb in a culvert under a road in Rueso, Narathiwat. The blast injured three villagers and severely damaged a pickup truck.
A bomb planted in a culvert beneath a road in Ban Kado village, Moo 4, Rueso district, Narathiwat, exploded on Wednesday (February 11), injuring three people and damaging a vehicle.
Pol Col Supachai Supakitjarak, chief of Rueso Police Station, requested support from an explosive ordnance disposal team and military working dogs to examine the scene, along with relevant agencies.
Investigators found a blast crater at the culvert, about one metre deep and roughly two metres wide. Debris from an improvised explosive device, believed to have been assembled inside a cooking gas cylinder weighing about 50 kilograms, was scattered across the area, mixed with soil and asphalt.
Police said the bomb was detonated using a battery, with electrical wires running into nearby forest.
About 30 metres from the crater, officers found a brown, four-door Isuzu pickup parked by the roadside, with heavy damage to the front grille, windscreen and a crushed passenger cabin roof.
The injured had already been taken to Rueso Hospital by rescue volunteers. They were identified as Pattawikarn Waseng, 43; Ahwang Waseng, 67; and Mariye Masamae, 73. All three suffered chest tightness and ringing in the ears. After receiving initial treatment, they were admitted for further observation.
Police said preliminary enquiries found that Pattawikarn was driving a pickup home with his father and relatives—four people in total—travelling behind a pickup belonging to a police prevention and suppression unit from Rueso Police Station.
Suspects, whose number is unknown, were believed to be hiding in thick forest along the road and detonated the bomb as the police vehicle passed, with the blast going off about 10 metres after it had driven through.
The pickup behind was struck by shrapnel, sustaining severe damage, and three members of the family were injured.
Authorities believe the attack was carried out by members of an insurgent network aiming to ambush and kill police officers, but the device missed its intended target and instead harmed local residents.
