SOUTHERN UNREST / MARTIAL LAW CURBS

Bans may be placed on nails used by militants

BANGKOK POST and AP

The military is considering a ban on unauthorised possession of 8-12cm carpentry nails in the deep South, where they often used by insurgents to puncture the tyres of security force vehicles, Maj-Gen Chamlong Khunsong, the deputy commander of the southern region, said yesterday. The new rules would be applied under martial law, now in effect in the southern border provinces, he said.

Pieces of wood spiked with nails are regularly strewn along roads to slow down security vehicles heading to the scene of shootings or bombings.

But the restriction would not affect ongoing construction projects, he said.

In Pattani, three policemen on traffic duty were shot dead yesterday evening at a municipal intersection in Panare district.

Six assailants on motorcycles shot them and took their weapons.

Authorities chased the attackers, shooting and killing two of them and arresting three others. One escaped.

In Yala, a bomb exploded at Region 9 police training centre yesterday morning in Muang district. No one was injured.

Police said the device was hidden on the underside of a pick-up truck belonging to a policewoman. It was apparently intended to destroy the centre where Yala's police forward command is located.

In Narathiwat's Rueso district, a bomb damaged a public phone booth, but no one was injured.

Yala governor Theera Minthrasak said free copies of handbooks outlining accurate Islamic beliefs were being distributed to promote a better understanding of Islam and mend gaps between Muslims and people of other faiths.

The handbook, Islam: A Must-tell Truth, contains 39 pages in Thai and 31 pages in Yawi. It aims to educate the public about Islam, and is consistent with the Koran.

It forms part of efforts by the authorities to prevent militants from indoctrinating youths with inaccurate interpretations of the Koran.

Bangkok Post

Wednesday April 04, 2007