Three policemen were injured by a bomb explosion on a road in Cho Airong district of Narathiwat on Wednesday afternoon.
The explosion occurred when the three were on their way to provide protection for teachers. They were travelling in a police patrol truck along the Ban Ya Ning road at Moo 2 village in tambon Juab.
Pol Lt Weerasak Kongnuam, 35, Pol Sgt Rattapon Phrakong, 31, and Pol Sgt Pitak Khiewjeen, 31, all from Cho Airong police station, sustained shrapnel wounds to their faces and bodies and were taken to Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra hospital.
The bomb, packed into a 20-kilogramme gas cylinder, was hidden near a reduce speed sign about 200 metres from Ban Ya Ning school where the officers were to escort teachers to their homes. The bomb was detonated by radio when the pickup truck arrived.
Police blamed separatist militants.