A string of attacks in Pattani and Yala yesterday and on Thursday was likely in retaliation for a raid by security authorities on an insurgent hideout, according to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.
He was speaking after several attacks in Pattani's Muang and Nong Chik districts and in Yala's Krong Pinang district that left one soldier dead and three members of the security forces injured.
Gen Prawit said officials believe the upsurge in violence was in retaliation for a successful raid by security forces on a well-hidden insurgent base in Ban Tan Yong Pao in tambon Tha Kam Cham of Nong Chik district on Wednesday. One suspect was arrested in the swoop.
The raid on the base was the result of a police hunt for five key insurgent suspects, the deputy premier said.
Regarding talks with Mara Patani, Gen Prawit said no agreement had been signed with the umbrella organisation representing six southern militant groups.
The deputy prime minister also denied discussing peace efforts with Malaysian defence minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, during a visit to Malaysia last week.
Meanwhile, arsonists set fire to a school in Pattani's Nong Chik district early yesterday.
A later search of Ban Khai School in tambon Pulo Puyo revealed pieces of burnt tyres scattered at the scene. Tests are being carried out in a bid to find clues that will help identify the perpetrators.
The fire gutted a downstairs library in the two-storey school building. No one was injured and the school remained open yesterday.
The arson attack occurred shortly after two rangers were injured in a blast in Muang district on Thursday night.
In Yala’s Krong Pinang district, a soldier was killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb exploded yesterday morning.
The blast occurred near a rubber plantation in tambon Sa-ae, according to Krong Pinang police.
The bomb exploded as a seven-man patrol providing protection for teachers passed by.
Two soldiers were hit by shrapnel — Pvt Sayompu Kaewklum, 22, and Pvt Prasert Immuang, 22. Pvt Sayompu later died in Krong Pinang Hospital.
