Police hunt suspects after 68th car bomb attack in Thailand’s deep South

Sixty-eight car bombings linked to the southern unrest have been recorded since the first such attack in 2005, with the latest explosion outside the old Tanyong Police Station building in Narathiwat prompting a manhunt for two suspects.

Of the 68 recorded attacks, 29 occurred in Narathiwat, 19 in Pattani, 15 in Yala and four in the southern districts of Songkhla. One other insurgency-linked car bombing took place outside the southern border provinces, at the Central Festival shopping centre car park on Koh Samui in Surat Thani in 2015.

The latest incident, the first car bombing recorded in the southern border region in 2026, occurred at about 7.20pm on Tuesday, July 21, near the entrance to Thaksin Ratchaniwet Palace in Kaluwo Nuea subdistrict, Mueang Narathiwat district.

By Wednesday morning, police had identified the vehicle used in the attack, traced the person believed to have possessed it before the bombing and begun reviewing CCTV footage showing two suspects fleeing the scene.

Forensic officers were also examining fragments of the explosive devices and the wrecked car for fingerprints, DNA and other evidence that could help identify the perpetrators.

CCTV shows driver abandoning moving car

Provincial Police Region 9 commissioner Pol Lt Gen Piyawat Chalermsri ordered officers to examine security-camera footage from roads leading to the former police station building.

Investigators said the footage showed two suspects approaching from the direction of a roundabout near the Kaluwo Nuea Subdistrict Administrative Organisation.

One suspect drove the bomb-laden saloon car, while another followed on a motorcycle.

At a three-way junction, the driver slowed the car and steered it into a right turn towards the police station. After confirming that the vehicle was rolling towards the target, he opened the door, jumped out and ran to the waiting motorcycle.

The two suspects then fled along a road beside Tanyong Police Station, passing a mosque on a route leading towards Tak Bai district.

The explosives were detonated moments after the driver left the vehicle, police said.

Security officers are examining additional footage to reconstruct the suspects’ movements before and after the attack and determine whether other people provided logistical support.

Officer slightly injured, building damaged

The explosion damaged the former police station building and shattered almost all its windows.

Police Senior Sergeant Major Apisit Anuchat, a squad leader in the crime-prevention unit who was on guard duty at a fortified post, suffered minor injuries from fragments.

A black four-door Toyota pickup truck belonging to Apisit was also extensively damaged by fire and debris. It had been parked about 10 to 15 metres from the bomb-laden car.

The wreckage of the saloon car was scattered across two main areas: near the roadside wall and police station sign, and on the right-hand side of the former station building.

By Wednesday morning, officials had cleared the wreckage and installed black screening around damaged sections of the compound. Workers had also begun repairing the station’s perimeter wall.

Two explosive devices concealed in car

Forensic investigators found evidence that two improvised explosive devices had been hidden inside the vehicle.

One device, estimated to weigh about 20 kilogrammes, was placed in a portable gas cylinder. The second, weighing about 50kg, was installed in a cooking-gas cylinder.

The devices had a combined estimated weight of 70kg and were believed to have been connected to a remote-control triggering system.

Officers collected fragments of the explosive devices and pieces of the vehicle for laboratory examination.

Investigators hope some of the recovered material may contain latent fingerprints, DNA or other forensic traces left by the perpetrators.

Police trace car fitted with false plates

The car used in the attack was identified as a Mitsubishi Lancer carrying false Bangkok registration plates.

Police said its registered owner lived in Nakhon Chai Si district of Nakhon Pathom province and had previously transferred the vehicle informally to another person without immediately changing the registered ownership.

The car was subsequently used by a person in Narathiwat whom investigators have identified but have not publicly named.

Officers searched the home of the person’s wife in Bang Po subdistrict, Mueang Narathiwat district, but did not find him.

Authorities were preparing to extend the investigation to a residence in Su-ngai Padi district, where the person was originally registered as living.

Police have not said whether the previous possessor is suspected of direct involvement in the attack or is being sought for questioning about the vehicle’s movements.

Rolling-car tactic seen in previous attacks

Investigators said the perpetrators used a tactic in which a vehicle packed with explosives is allowed to roll towards a security or government target after the driver has escaped.

The method reduces the time the attacker spends near the target and can make it more difficult for officers to intercept the vehicle before it reaches the building.

Authorities said the same or a similar tactic had been used in three previous attacks in Narathiwat.

On September 29, 2024, a stolen car was fitted with explosives and allowed to roll down a slope towards the Tak Bai district chief’s residence and Volunteer Defence Corps Company 5 in Che He subdistrict.

Two Marine personnel were injured in the attack, while nearby houses were damaged by the explosion and subsequent fire.

Another attack occurred inside the Su-ngai Kolok district office compound on March 8, 2025.

The tactic was used again on August 20, 2025, outside the Sala Mai Tambon Protection Unit base on Highway 42 in Tak Bai district, about 22 kilometres from the site of the latest bombing.

Authorities believe the latest perpetrators may be part of an operational cell connected to at least one of the earlier attacks, although forensic and intelligence investigations are continuing.