YALA, Nov 2 – Leaflets promising continued attacks on Thai Buddhists were found at two of five bomb incident locations in this restive southern province.
Two bombs exploded, one seriously wounding a border patrol police officer, part of a 10-man patrol unit being transported in two pickup trucks. Four others were slightly wounded Wednesday morning in the ambush in Yala’ province’s Bannang Sata district.
The government security personnel were on patrol duty when the bomb exploded.
The seriously wounded officer was evacuated to Songkhlanagarind Hospital for treatment, while four others were only slightly injured and bruised by bomb fragments on their arms and bodies.
Both trucks were seriously damaged.
Another bomb in Bannang Sta exploded about two hours later targetting volunteer rangers who were on foot patrol, but there were no casualties.
Meanwhile, in the nearby province of Narathiwat, remote-controlled bombs were found and defused at three locations by Ra-ngae district police, who believed the bombs were intended for the authorities.
One bomb was hidden at a signboard giving directions to a village. The second was found in a rubber plantation, while the third was a noticed as a suspicious object in another rubber plantation and later determined to be a fake bomb.
The Thai messages referring to the Tak Bai incident seven years ago was found in both rubber plantations. The text read “October Tak Bai. As long as those who ordered the killing of Melayu people are still in power, Thai Buddhists must pay the price for it.”
