Police are seeking arrest warrants for eight people suspected of launching Friday’s bomb carnage in central Narathiwat that cut down pedestrians and signalled a renewal of southern hostilities.
Narathiwat provincial police chief Phatthanawut Angkhanawin said yesterday at least eight people are suspected of being involved in the attack. It was hoped the court would approve the warrants within a week.
A huge bomb packed into a stolen pickup exploded outside a restaurant on the main road near the Isuzu showroom intersection early in the afternoon.
It wreaked havoc across the road, causing widespread damage to shops and injuring 17 people, some of whom remain in hospital in critical condition.
Pol Maj Gen Phatthanawut said it was believed the suspects were linked to several previous acts of violence in Narathiwat’s Bacho and Yi-ngo districts and Khok Pho and Sai Buri districts in Pattani, as well as in Songkhla.
He said intelligence suggested the attack was intended to scare local people away from helping state authorities and force them to sympathise with the insurgents again.
He said officials had worked hard to gain the trust and cooperation of locals who have agreed to support peace efforts in the region.
Intelligence also suggested the insurgents chose central Narathiwat for the fresh attack to show they were still dangerous.
Forensic and explosive ordnance disposal officers are trying to find an igniter used to fire the explosive. Police can use the igniter to help identify which insurgent group was responsible for the bomb attack.
The bomb planted in the stolen bronze Mitsubishi pickup exploded just after 1pm in front of a karaoke restaurant on Na Nagara Road. It injured 17 people and damaged more than 40 buildings.
Another bomb was found in a motorcycle about 300m away but was defused by the bomb squad.
A grenade was also tossed into a restaurant in tambon Lamphu in Yi-ngo district, but did not explode, police said. The pickup was reported stolen from Songkhla’s Thepha district where it was used to transport students. It was used in a drive-by shooting aimed at officers from Tambon Ma Krut Administration Organisation in Pattani’s Khok Pho district on Sept 11.
Col Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command's (Isoc) Region 4 Forward Command, said the car bomb was aimed at derailing the peace process. It was also intended to cause havoc to the region’s economy and discredit state authorities trying to resolve the southern violence.
Col Pramote condemned the attack as an inhumane act.
He said Fourth Army chief and Isoc Region 4 director Prakan Chonlayuth had ordered stepped up efforts to track and arrest the culprits, survey the extent of the damage and provide aid to those affected.
Engineers and workers yesterday surveyed the bomb's impact on 47 buildings, 13 of which were severely damaged.
Workers moved in to repair damaged public utilities such as electricity poles, water pipes and telephone cables.
Workers also cleared all debris from the blast site.
Municipality authorities said they would install more security cameras in Muang district, while the provincial governor and local police look set to declare all 13 districts of the province "safety helmet-free" areas.
This means helmets cannot be worn in order to make it easier for security officers to identify motorists.
Meanwhile, a soldier was wounded when paramilitary rangers clashed with suspected insurgents on Tawae mountain in Rangae district of Narathiwat yesterday.
The clash began around noon when paramilitary rangers were deployed to the mountain in tambon Bo Ngo following a tip-off that a group of armed men had been using the area as a base to carry out violent attacks in Rangae district.
When the rangers closed in, five to six insurgents opened fire, triggering a hail of gun shots. The clash lasted about 10 minutes before the insurgents disappeared into the forest.