NARATHIWAT - A soldier was killed by a roadside bomb that exploded in Tak Bai district when his patrol went to check a report that some men were digging a hole in the road there on Monday night.
The eight-member unit was patrolling a local road in Tak Bai when a resident alerted them about 7.45pm that 3 or 4 men were digging a hole beside the road near the neck of Padado bridge in tambon Nanak, said Pol Lt Suriya Jomsuriya, investigation chief of Tak Bai police station. The explosion was reported about 8pm, he said.
The patrol leader, Sgt Maj Jittapol Renu Na Ayutthaya, and two of his team accompanied the informant to inspect the scene.
When the team arrived there, a bomb was detonated. Sgt Maj Jittapol sustained severe shrapnel wounds to both legs. The other two soldiers then fired shots into the sky to deter the attackers, who fled.
Sgt Maj Jittapol was rushed to Tak Bai Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.
Pol Col Jeeradet Phrasawang, chief of Tak Bai police, said militants were probably planting a bomb on the road with the intention of targeting a security patrol passing through the area on Tuesday morning.
After they were spotted digging up the road they most likely decided to wait and then detonate the bomb when a security patrol arrived to investigate, the Tak Bai police chief.
