Six soldiers hurt in patrol ambush

General news - Friday December 14, 2007

SOUTHERN UNREST ONGOING MAYHEM

Six soldiers hurt in patrol ambush

POST REPORTERS

Narathiwat _ Six soldiers were wounded when their patrol vehicle was bombed and then ambushed by gunmen in Cho Airong district of Narathiwat yesterday. The eight-member patrol was travelling in a pick-up truck. The bomb was buried in the road near the rail track on Ban Ai Satia-Ban Toteng road.

It exploded right in front of their vehicle, which then plunged into the crater. Hidden gunmen then opened fire on the soldiers.

The bomb was buried under the road.

A five-minute exchange of gunfire left six of the soldiers wounded. The attackers then fled.

In Pattani yesterday, the head engineer of a tambon administration organisation was shot and wounded in Yarang district.

Somsak Pudindan, 36,was driving to work in a pick-up on the Ban Puyood-Sawada road when two men on a motorcycle fired three shots at him.

Mr Somsak was hit in the right leg, but managed to drive himself to a hospital.

The fleeing gunmen threw spikes on the road to delay police pursuit.

Army spokesman Acra Tiproch said 2,600 people had now been killed since an attack on the 4th military development unit in Cho Airong district in 2004.

The theft of guns from its arsenal marked the onset of the separatist insurgency. Of the victims, 1,756 were Muslims.

Col Acra said there had been 4,690 attacks from Jan 4, 2004 to Nov 30, 2007. On average, three attacks occurred every day.

He said 142 soldiers and 190 policemen had been killed in the same period.

Col Acra rejected speculation that security personnel were involved in the Wednesday bombing of a bus in Pattani that injured 15 soldiers.

''It was not an inside job. It was just a regular attack,'' he said.

''Soldiers have close relations with villagers, so it's possible that the insurgents knew what the authorities had set out to do. It's hard to prevent that from happening.''

Col Acra believed the establishment of a new special force proposed by army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda would help improve the situation.

A ''251 intelligence agency'' would also be opened to pool and integrate information and news on events in the South from police, military and civilians.

Bangkok Post