NARATHIWAT, Oct 6 – One villager– a woman– was shot dead, while one man and four soldiers were wounded in overnight shooting and bombing incidents in restive Narathiwat’s Cho Ai Rong district late Wednesday, according to local police.
Pol Lt-Col Somjai Singkliang of Cho Ai Rong police station together with an investigative team and a bomb disposal unit investigated the scene of the bombing.
The initial investigation found that a group of 10 assailants in military lookalike uniforms, armed with M16 and AK47 assault rifles, were divided into three teams before carrying out their attacks.
The first group shot Jintana Sae Tew, a 46-year-old woman at her home, located near Bukit railway station. The victim died immediately.
Abdulkarim Masae, a neighbour and former provincial official, heard the gunfire and opened a window to observe the situation. An attacker guarding Ms Jintana’s home, fired one shot at Mr Abdulkarim, leaving him wounded. After the assault, the team fled.
Responding to the incident, Lt Rangsan Arkornnak and three soldiers from Narathiwat Special Task Force 31 rushed to the scene of the shooting by pickup truck.
En route to Ban Patapasay village, the second team detonated a bomb buried in the road. The explosion injured the four soldiers’ legs and torso.
The wounded soldiers, in addition to Lt Rangsan, were identified as Pvt Supachai Thammarik and Pvt Supareuk Chuaithai.
Following the bombing Cho Ai Rong, Deputy Governor Masagree Saree, and defence volunteers came by pickup truck to the scene of the bomb ambush.
When the vehicle entered Ban Cho Kro village, the government response team passed the third group of suspected insurgents who triggered a bomb buried beneath a tree.
No injuries or deaths occurred as the vehicle had already passed where the bomb was hidden.
More than 4,300 lives, including residents, authorities and insurgent suspects, have died in almost daily unrest since the violence escalated in 2004.
