NARATHIWAT: An army officer and a villager were killed and three other people injured in two related attacks in Chanae district of this southern border province on Sunday.
On Sunday morning, insurgents detonated a bomb in a forest where three villagers were looking for wild products, near Ban Ire Muesae, the Moo 6 village, in tambon Chanae.
After the bomb went off, gunmen opened fire. Mongkol Phetwong, 63, was killed and Pradit Sarawan, 44, and Dam Thepchan, 61, were wounded. The injured were admitted to Sungai Kolok Hospital.
About 20 spent M16 rifle cartridges were later found at the scene.
A special operations team of the Narathiwat Task Force was dispatched to the scene in an armoured vehicle. As the vehicle neared Ban Ire Gros, the Moo 6 village in tambon Chanae, a road bomb was detonated remotely. The explosion blew the armoured vehicle off the road and into a ditch.
Capt Chindanai Raethong, a staff officer, and Sgt Apisit Madsakul, the driver, were seriously injured. They were rushed to Chanae Hospital. Capt Chindanai had serious head injuries and was later pronounced dead.