Authorities arrest suspect in train attack

Authorities arrest suspect in train attack

Security officers have arrested a man believed to have been involved in the bomb attack on a Nakhon Si Thammarat-Sungai Kolok train that killed three people and injured 36 others in Narathiwat's Rueso district on Sunday.

Picking up the pieces Railway workers clear train carriages derailed by Sunday’sbomb attack in Narathiwat’s Rueso district. Rail services on the Yala-Sungai Kolok route are expected to resume today. WAEDAOHARAI

The officers, assigned to search for bombing suspects in Ban Solo in Rueso yesterday, noticed Anwa Yuni, 24, behaving suspiciously as he rode a motorcycle in the village. They decided to arrest him.

Mr Anwa was suspected of helping the attackers watch out for security officers while accomplices carried out the attack on the railway near Salo Bukit Yure station. A bomb, planted on the track, exploded when the train passed over it. After the blast, militants opened fired on the disabled train.

Initial investigations have found that Mr Anwa was once wanted under an arrest warrant in a case related to the emergency decree and that he is a younger brother of Abdunlo Yuni, a suspected insurgent wanted by police.

Officers are searching for followers of Peing Useng, a suspected insurgent leader in Rueso, and others who may have been involved in the bombing.

The bomb blast has stalled train transport to Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district for three days.

Authorities finished track repairs yesterday and train services in Rueso district will resume today, said Phiraphon Thapwet, superintendent of the State Railway of Thailand's Southern Region Centre.

Teams of between seven and 10 defence volunteers and police have been ordered to ride on board each train travelling between Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani to ensure passenger safety.

Also in Rueso district, two 25kg bombs planted on a road in Tonaeta village in tambon Samakkhi were dismantled by an explosive ordnance disposal team yesterday afternoon.

Police said the remote-controlled bombs were aimed at troops travelling on the road.

Residents spotted the hidden devices and promptly alerted authorities.

Meanwhile, Yala municipal police have said they believe insurgents responsible for the motorcycle bomb blast in the downtown area that killed one woman and injured 33 other people on Saturday are part of the same group that carried out the March 31 Yala car bomb attack.

Footage from security cameras and evidence from the blast scene in front of a shop on Siroros Road initially suggested the suspects were related to the Hadi Sa-a group, Yala police chief Phira Bunliang said. Police investigators are waiting for the results of further investigations before asking the court to issue warrants for the arrest of the suspects.

Ringleader Mr Hadi is thought to have contacted Saifulo Safuru, an alleged bomb maker, prior to the car bomb attack on Ruammit Road in Yala's Muang district early this year.

Other suspects are believed to be members of a rebel group led by Roki Doro, Pol Maj Gen Phira said.

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