The 4th Army Region has ordered a probe into Sunday’s gun attack in Pattani in which four local people were killed and three others seriously wounded.
Col Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command's (Isoc) Region 4 Forward Command, which is in charge of security in the southern region, yesterday condemned the killings in Khok Pho district.
He said the attack was cruel and inhumane, and vowed authorities would bring the killers to justice.
The attack took place at a tea shop in tambon Khok Pho.
Armed men in a pickup truck opened fire at the shop at 7.55pm on Sunday, killing four local people and seriously wounding three others.
A total of 34 rounds of rifle ammunition and parts of various weapons were found at the scene, Col Pramote said.
The attack prompted 4th Army Region commander Sakol Chuentrakul to order an investigation.
Col Pramote said authorities have been keeping a close watch on a network of insurgents as they might try to distort the facts by putting the blame on security officers.
The spent bullets were being examined by a police scientific crime detection centre, said the Isoc’s Region 4 Forward Command spokesman.
The results of the tests will be revealed soon and may help the police find some clues to the assailants involved, he said.
He urged local people not to rush to any conclusions since the southern violence is a very complex situation.
So far, authorities have not been able to find out the motive for the killings. Footage from security cameras, which captured a white pickup truck used by a group of four to five armed men who opened fire on the shop, would be examined.
The victims, all men, were identified as Sutthisak Satam, 49, a member of the Khok Pho municipal council; Abdulloh Yusor, 27; tea shop owner Kaew Phetmanee, 65, and Adam Sama, 47.
The three injured men were Isma-ae Dueramae, 27, Witthawat Jangwang, 29, and Kuruning Bahem, 39.
Relatives of the dead victims took the bodies home to prepare them for religious rites, while the three injured victims have now been declared out of danger.
Pol Lt Col Siriwat Panyachonwat, deputy chief of Khok Pho district police, said a police team has been sent to hunt down the suspects, and more road checkpoints have been set up to assist the officers.
He believed the shooting could be linked to the southern unrest.
The assailants used HK and M16 rifles, said Pol Lt Col Siriwat.
Police were examining whether the spent bullets collected from the scene might be linked to weapons used by insurgents in the area.