The Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) has insisted a string of bomb, gun and arson attacks which rocked Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla provinces over the past two days had nothing do to with the first visit to the region by a special government delegation.
Col Yuthanam Phetmuang, a spokesman of Isoc Region 4, said Thursday the coordinated attacks -- which killed one soldier and two security guards and injured three civilians -- in the three southernmost provinces did not aim to challenge a visit to the region by the 13-member special government team, led by Deputy Defence Minister Udomdej Sitabutr.
The delegation on Wednesday flew to Pattani to attend a meeting with the public and private sectors as well as civic groups at the 15th Infantry Division in Nong Chik district.
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said authorities imposed tight surveillance which enabled them to confine the attacks to specific areas.
He asked locals to report any suspicious activities.
Killed in the attacks were Pvt Thanapol Kaewphet, 23, of the 5th Infantry Battalion, in Pattani, and two security guards, Sanya Samankandee and Dolmalek Leeteh in Songkhla. The three injured were Rosalin Manikan, 34, Kungasaming Loma, 31, and Ni-irafan Saribu, 25, in Songkhla.
"We are checking to see why the attackers chose to strike on Wednesday and whether the day held any symbolic importance to them," said Col Yuthanam.
He was speaking after the wave of explosions, gun and arson attacks in Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla's Thepa district, which started on Wednesday night and lasted until Thursday morning. In Pattani's Sai Buri district, police were alerted to three simultaneous attacks about 9.35pm on Wednesday.
Burning car tyres were left on a bridge in Ban Ko To in tambon Bue Re while a group of armed men fired shots at a police outpost at Ban Kalapho near Moo 1 in tambon Trobon. When police returned fire, the attackers retreated. There were no casualties or damage.
At 10pm, four power poles were also brought down by bomb blasts along Highway 42 in tambon Trobon, causing a blackout in the area. About the same time in Muang district, militant gunmen attacked a war veterans' office at Ban Kampong Tarong in tambon Bang Na, killing Pvt Thanapol. A power transformer was also damaged when insurgents shot at it in tambon Talu Bo.
Soldiers paint over messages scrawled by separatists during their coordinated bomb, arson and armed attacks in three southern provinces on Wednesday and Thursday.
In Pattani's Nong Chik district, a 7-Eleven convenience store at a petrol station in tambon Bang Khao was set on fire, followed by an explosion. No one was injured. In Yaring district, assailants opened fire on rangers in Ban Ja Bang To Ku while two bomb blasts were reported in tambon Tanyong Dalo. Also, car tyres were set alight by insurgents in tambon Tanyong Chueng-nga. No injuries were reported.
In Narathiwat, a black plastic bag containing a suspicious object similar to a bomb was placed in a basket of a bicycle left on a bridge in which "Thak Kap", which means "arrest", was sprayed on a bridge rail in Yi-ngo district. Authorities found the object was not a bomb after using a high pressure gun to destroy it.
On the same day, in Songkhla province, a bomb went off in front of an ATM machine of the Government Savings Bank opposite a PTT petrol station in Thepha district on Wednesday about 10pm, injuring the three people. About the same time, in Chana district the two security guards were killed by a bomb blast.
Authorities believed the attacks were retaliation against local authorities who recently killed several key insurgents including Ahama Maerao, 29, a key figure of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) southern insurgency network. He was shot dead in a gunfight with authorities in Narathiwat on Oct 30.
