Four soldiers were killed in a hail of bullets in a drive-by attack by suspected insurgents in Yala’s Raman district on Wednesday evening.
Police said the four were travelling in a privately-owned Toyota on Raman-Balor Road in Ban Palugapalus village of tambon Balor at about 5pm when they were approached by at least three assailants on a 10-wheeler truck loaded with sand.
The attackers fired dozens of shots at the Pattani-registered car from M-16 rifles. They then jumped off the truck and fired more bullets into the bodies of the soldiers.
Police said they found innumerable spent M-16 casings at the scene. The soldiers' bodies were riddled with bullet wounds.
The suspected insurgents took three M-16A2 and a .380 semi-automatic pistol from the slain soldiers before speeding off. They laid spikes on the road to prevent security forces from following them.
The dead soldiers were named as Thanong Meechaichana and Adisorn Sangkosin, both with the rank of sergeant major 1st class, and two privates, Theerakhom Krailit and Theeranai Luangsing. All were attached to Yala Task Force 12.
The soldiers were returning from a sports event held by Tadika Islamic schools in Raman when the attack took place.