PATTANI — A monk and a soldier were killed and six others were injured when a bomb hidden in a garbage bin went off in Pattani early on Saturday.
Police were alerted of the bombing on the road to the back of the Sai Buri police station in Taluban municipality at 6.30am.
They found eight people injured at the scene. Three of them were members of an army team assigned to protect Buddhist monks. Two of them were monks and the remaining three were local people.
They were told the soldiers were on duty guarding the monks while they took morning alms when a bomb hidden in a garbage bin exploded.
The eight victims were: Sgt Maj Class 2 Chanan Poompipat, 40; Cpl Wanmai Rakano, 28; Cpl Poonsak Wannaveera, 25; Phra Payom Suktri, 54; Phra Ekkapol Sri-osoth, 39; Somjai Visetsuwannapum; Niwat Nima; and Suwat Kong-in. They were taken to Saiburi Crown Prince Hospital.
Cpl Wanmai and Phra Ekapol died later at Pattani Hospital.
The army on Saturday condemned the bombing, calling the insurgents behind the explosion the "extremists" who tried to derail efforts to restore peace in the battered region.
Banpote Poonpien, a spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command, said the extremists were a minority group trying to block the "peace momentum" in the southern border provinces. They had targeted the monks to instigate a religious divide in the area, he said.
He added army chief Gen Udomdej Sitabutr had expressed condolences to the families of the victims and commanded all units in the border region to tighten security measures on all fronts.
The army also issued new security guidelines for southern monks on their morning alms rounds in the wake of the deadly bombing.
