NARATHIWAT, March 29 – The Thai authorities have identified three Muslim insurgents for alleged implication in a bomb ambush of a Thai patrol team in this southern province on Wednesday night which killed three rangers and injured five others.
About 12 rangers were patrolling in a village, about 900 metres from Cho-airong district office, when a large home-made bomb, hidden near a lamp post in a rubber plantation, was detonated.
Police said three militants were responsible for the bombing, possibly in revenge for the death of their companion, Abdulromeng Dueloh, who was shot dead in an exchange of gunfire with the authorities the previous night.
The three bombing suspects were identified as Sukifri Suemae, a bomb expert arrested by Malaysian authorities in Kelantan state seven years ago and later released, Waehanman Kuwaekama, a war weapons expert, and Mama Mudo-ahsae, a core member of the RKK Muslim separatist movement in Bukit subdistrict of Cho-airong district.
Thai officials said the group may attack again in Cho-airong district during the peace talks between a Thai government delegation and Muslim insurgent leaders in Kuala Lumpur. The dialogues on Thursday in the presence and with the participation of the Malaysian authorities.
