SONGKHLA: Suspected insurgents launched a bomb attack on a power plant in Saba Yoi district and set fire to car tyres in the adjacent district of Thepha in the early hours of Friday.
Police reported that the bombing occurred at Rungtiva Biomass power plant in Plak Bo village. Three loud bangs were heard after four men, armed with war weapons and wearing black outfits, reportedly entered the facility.
Security camera footage showed two men carrying a cooking cylinder and two containers of fuel, placing them inside the power plant at 12.26am. Thirty minutes later, the bomb went off.
A damaged building at a power plant in Songkhla's Saba Yoi district. (Photo: Assawin Pakkawan)
After inspecting the scene, officers said a boiler building was damaged in the blast.
Around the same time, car tyres were set on fire at several locations in Thepha.
Car tyres are set on fire in Thepha district of Songkhla province early Friday. (Photo: Assawin Pakkawan)
Authorities believed the attacks were aimed at creating unrest in the southern border province and might be linked to other incidents in the region on Thursday night.
In Pattani, a biomass power plant in Mae Lan district was set on fire late Thursday night. No injuries were reported.
A group of 10 armed men in black outfits entered the power plant in tambon Ban Rai around 11.30pm and told seven workers to leave the area immediately. The intruders set fire on a car in the compound and then the power plant.
A biomass power plant in Mae Lan district of Pattani province is torched on Thursday night. (Photo: Assawin Pakkawan)
Loud bangs were heard five times during the explosion, but nobody was injured, said Jaema-ae Jaema, former kamnan of tambon Ban Rai who was head of the security team at the facility. He was alerted about the attack by his team.
The Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4 on Friday assured residents and business operators that authorities would beef up security in the area to ensure people's safety.
A car is set on fire at a power plant in Pattani. (Photo: Assawin Pakkawan)