
Ten police officers on board two pickup trucks narrowly escaped injury when a roadside bomb exploded just after one of the vehicles drove passed it in Narathiwat province around noon Thursday.

Bomb disposal officers inspect a blast site in Chanae district of Narathiwat on Feb 5. The home-made bomb, believed to target police, went off shortly after one of two police vehicles past the site. (Photo by Waedao Harai)
The bomb, stuffed into a 25kg gas cylinder with stones placed on top, was hidden near a roadside power pole in Chanae district's Chanae tambon. The bomb was detonated by radio, said police, who were alerted about the blast at 11.59am.
The blast left a crater about 1.5 metres deep and a metre wide, Pieces of metal were scattered around the area.
Police believed the bomb was aimed at targeting Chanae police officers travelling in the two trucks. The officers had attended a vaccination campaign activity at a nearby school and they left around noon. The bomb went off when one of their pickups passed the blast site by just five metres. All survived the explosion.