Soldier killed, 5 Hurt, In attack on army truck in pattani

Soldier killed, 5 Hurt, In attack on army truck in pattani

PATTANI : One soldier was killed and five others injured in an ambush on the outskirts of a village in Muang district early yesterday morning.

AFTERMATH: Security forces stand guard around an army truck riddled with bullet holes after it was ambushed in Pattani yesterday. One soldier was killed and five others were injured.

Police said six soldiers were in a military truck on their way to an outpost for a routine personnel rotation in tambon Taluboh when they were fired at by militants.

At least two gunmen on a motorcycle waited for the truck to pass on a local bridge in a village bordering Muang district.

When the truck approached the bridge, the men sprayed bullets at the vehicle, injuring the six soldiers on board.

The soldiers drove away and returned fire briefly as they did so. The gunmen later fled.

The gunfight left the six soldiers injured, two of them seriously. The officers were rushed to hospital.

Pvt Sarawut Srinakhon, 22, later died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Police investigators recovered spent bullet casings from the scene to determine the weapons used in the ambush. They will compare them with those found in past attacks.

The army truck will also be examined. Its front windshield and doors on both sides were riddled with bullet holes. There were pools of blood inside the passenger compartment.

An intelligence report suggests attacks against security forces are likely to intensify this year.

Meanwhile, a former insurgent has urged anyone thinking of joining separatist movements to reconsider.

Mukta Leekaji, a representative of a group of former insurgents who recently turned themselves in to authorities, yesterday called on active insurgents and their sympathisers to stop using violence.

He said he and his friends had earlier been persuaded to join insurgency movements. However, he said matters only worsened once they did so.

Some of his friends lost their lives in violent attacks, causing their families to face hardships. Their children went without an education, Mr Mukta said, adding he had evaded arrest several times.

Mr Mukta spoke during a peace-building activity held by the Fourth Army at CS Hotel in Pattani yesterday.

More than 1,200 Islamic leaders, local leaders and former insurgents attended the event.

Fourth Army commander Lt Gen Udomchai Thammasarorach said insurgents incited hatred against government officials and groomed misguided youths to join their movements.

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