Ranger killed in bomb blast

Ranger killed in bomb blast

NARATHIWAT : A member of a teacher protection team was killed and five others wounded in two bomb attacks in Narathiwat yesterday.

Authorities collect evidence at the site of an explosion on a road in Bango Kubo village in Rangae district of Narathiwat yesterday. WAEDAO HARAI

The fatal blast occurred at 8.40am on a road in Bango Kubo village in Rangae district of Narathiwat as a team of rangers patrolled the area.

The bomb, hidden under a pile of bricks next to the road, went off when the team walked past.

Police believed the bomber was hiding nearby and triggered the bomb when the teacher escort team arrived.

The explosion killed volunteer ranger Adam Yusor, 21, and seriously wounded three other volunteer rangers.

Earlier the same day, two volunteer rangers were slightly wounded in a bomb blast in tambon Tamayung in the same district.

Police believed the bomb attacks are the work of insurgents wanting to target security officers.

In Pattani, an employee of a military-run development project was killed in a drive-by shooting in Khok Pho district yesterday.

Chao Rattanasan, 67, of the 44th military development unit's animal breeding centre, was travelling on a motorcycle when the pillion gunman on another motorcycle fired at him on the Khok Pho-Chang Haitok road.

The victim, who was returning home after taking his daughter to school, was hit in the head.

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha will travel to the deep South today to assess the situation.

A source said Gen Prayuth was scheduled to visit the South today after having cancelled plans to visit the region over the past several months after the anti-government demonstrations broke out in Bangkok.

Gen Prayuth normally visits the deep South once a week.

Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) spokesman Col Banphot Poolpian said the bomb attacks in Narathiwat showed insurgents wanted to create a climate of fear in the region and put pressure on the government.

Gen Prayuth, in his capacity as deputy director of Isoc, had instructed troops working in the deep South to stay alert, said Col Banphot.

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