Two military rangers and one tambon administration organisation officer were killed in an ambush early yesterday morning in Pattani’s Yarang district.
Yarang police deputy superintendent Pol Lt Col Anthee Koraree said the two military rangers were Amaddalee Paleekate and Masorbree Kalong. Rawang tambon administration organisation officer Yawalee Parseloh was also killed in the attack. They were all residents of Yarang.
Pol Lt Col Anthee said the attack occurred on road No 410 linking Yala with Pattani at Ban Ton Makham in tambon Mohwawee about 12.30 am.
Pol Lt Col Anthee said initial investigations found the men were travelling in a car when gunmen on a pickup truck opened fire on them with assault weapons. The attackers then fled.
The victims died inside their vehicle at the scene. Police have yet to conclude whether the southern violence is behind the killings, Pol Lt Col Anthee said.
An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was sent to the crime scene to collect further evidence and information.
The EOD team found 45 spent M16, 55 spent AK, six spent 9MM and four spent rifle shells scattered on the road and collected them for further verification, he said.
He said the team also found two bullet casings from a .38 mm pistol that belonged to Amaddalee and a bullet casing from Masorbee’s AK9 assault rifle but the weapons were not found, leading the EOD team to believe the two guns had been stolen by the attackers.
He said police have not yet ruled out a personal conflict being the motive behind the murders as the three dead men had a history of involvement in drug trafficking in the southern region and were being sought by Narcotics Suppression Bureau police.
Several houses located near the attack scene were also struck by bullets during the ambush. One villager was shot and wounded while sleeping in his house and was taken to Yala Regional Hospital.
In Narathiwat, two local reporters and one police officer were slightly injured in a bomb attack in Yi Ngo district. They were later taken to Yi Ngo Hospital.
Yi Ngo police chief Pol Col Suthon Sukwiseth said the injured were later identified as Muranee Mama from Siam Rath newspaper, Pathitta Nusanthad from the Thai Public Broadcasting Service and Pol Sgt Maj Amornchon Thongpradab from Yi Ngo police station.
Pol Col Suthon said his police officers, an EOD team and the local reporters rushed to a blast scene on Petchkasem Road, whichs links Ban Ya Ngo with Ban Bukeh Bakong in Yi Ngo district, after being informed that an electricity pole had fallen across a road following an explosion.
Pol Col Suthon said when the police team arrived at the scene they found a box.
They suspected it might be a booby trap so they placed a rope around the box and opened it without knowing they were detonating a bomb that had been planted about 30m away.
Besides the three people who were injured, several vehicles parked nearby were badly damaged by the bomb blast, which resulted in a crater 2m deep and 4m wide.
“It was a well-planned bombing that intended to take the lives of security officials,’’ he said.
