Militants target army camp

Militants target army camp.

WAEDAO HARAI & MUHAMMAD AYUB PATHAN

A bomb, hidden in a soldier's pickup truck, exploded in front of Sirindhorn military camp in Pattani's Yarang district yesterday. No injuries were reported. The bomb was planted on the underside of a pickup truck belonging to Sgt-Maj Ammat Hayeewani, 53. It exploded just before he drove the vehicle into the camp which houses the headquarters of the Southern Border Provinces Peace-building Command, destroying the truck. Sgt-Maj Ammat escaped unhurt.

In a separate incident in Narathiwat's Cho Airong district yesterday, three soldiers were wounded in an explosion triggered by mobile phone.

The bomb, left near a power pole, went off around 8.15am while a team of 12 soldiers providing protection for teachers were removing logs, believed to have been laid by insurgents across a road in tambon Bukit.

The spot was about 10 metres from the scene of the blast.

The explosion brought down the pole and destroyed four high-voltage electricity lines. Three soldiers sustained shrapnel wounds.

Shortly before the blast, the team found a burnt Thai flag on the logs while messages glorifying separatism were spray-painted on the road.

Nails, pieces of metal, a mobile phone, a SIM card and iron rods were found scattered across the area. The bomb weighed around 7-10 kg. Police said insurgents had lured the security forces before detonating the bomb.

Earlier, an assistant village head was shot dead and a teenager wounded in separate gun attacks in Narathiwat.

Abdulwaha Yakor, 38, assistant village head of Juerae village in Sungai Padi district was shot dead in an ambush on his way home on Thursday.

In nearby Sri Sakhon district, Wuttipong Sakdarin, 19, was shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting. He was attacked by a gunman riding pillion on a motorcycle.

Bangkok Post
Saturday January 13, 2007