Former RKK leader Abdultore Kaso killed

Former RKK leader Abdultore Kaso killed

Shot by unidentified assailants in Songkhla

Security authorities inspect an area where a former insurgent leader was shot to death in Thepa district in Yala province on Thursday. (Photo by Assawin Pakkawan)
Security authorities inspect an area where a former insurgent leader was shot to death in Thepa district in Yala province on Thursday. (Photo by Assawin Pakkawan)

Abdultore Kaso, a former leader of the RKK guerilla group in Songkhla, was shot and killed while on his new job in Thepha district.

He was attacked on Thursday morning by a group of unidentified men when he stepped out of his pickup truck to give ice to his customers on Na Chuak-Phru Ching Road, police said.

An initial inspection found he suffered severe wounds caused by several bullets from a small rifle and a pistol.

Investigators are determining whether the assault was the result of a personal conflict or an insurgency-related incident.

Abdultore, 48, had served as a leader of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil, or RKK, which was active in Saba Yoi district. Its members are trained as guerillas to stir unrest in the Muslim-dominated provinces in the far South.

He had allegedly been involved in many violent incidents, including ambushes and bomb attacks. However, after he was arrested and the charges against him were dropped, he decided to join the state programme called pha khon klap ban, or the "take people home" programme, which is aimed at drawing people out of the insurgency.

About three days before Abdultore was killed, key insurgent group leader Bukhori Lamso was spotted in Thepha district, according to an intelligence source. 

His appearance may have been related to the attack, they said.

Police officers are examining the spent bullets, which are sized at 5.56 and 9 millimetres, to find out whether their weapons had been used elsewhere. 

In another related development, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has urged officials to improve their intelligence missions to avoid a repeat of the recent bombings in Bangkok.

“We haven't been very good at gathering information over the past 10 years because we have no [intelligence] sources in certain areas,” he said, while addressing a group of high-level authorities on Wednesday.

Abdultore Kaso, a former leader of the RKK guerilla group in Songkhla, was shot and killed while on his new job in Thepha district. 

He was attacked on Thursday morning by a group of unidentified men when he stepped out of his pickup truck to give ice to his customers on Na Chuak-Phru Ching Road, police said.

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