Islamic students condemn campus ATM bombing

The student union of Fatoni University, in southern Pattani province, has released a statement condemning the men who blew up an ATM at the entrance to the campus on Sunday, saying peace is the guiding principle of Islam.

Fatoni is a private Islamic university in Yarang district, one of three sites targeted by bomb blasts on Sunday.

The statement said the student unions of at least 75 universities, in Thailand and abroad, had expressed dismay over the violence directed at a place of education, and called on people to refrain from using violent means to pursue their goals.

The student union urged everyone in the community to join hands in protecting public property.

About ten unidentified men were seen on a security camera recording blowing up an Islamic Bank of Thailand ATM at Fatoni University. Two other locations were also attacked. There were no injuries.

Col Pramote Phrom-in, spokesman for the the Internal Security Operations Command's (Isoc) Region 4 Forward Command, said Sunday's attacks were another attempt to mislead the public into thinking state officials were actively fuelling the unrest in the South.

"The attackers were wearing uniforms resembling those of state officials, and they were clearly trying to make sure they were clearly captured by the security cameras," he said.

"This is a tactic that has been frequently used in the past," he said.

Shortly after Sunday's explosions, a Facebook user by the name "Suwara Patani" posted several details of the bombings that could be known only by the perpetrators, Col Pramote said.

"The Facebook page contains distorted information, with the intention of falsely implicating state officials," he said.

"I wonder why people still fall for it."