NARATHIWAT: A police officer was shot dead and his car set on fire in Sungai Padi district of this strife-torn southern province on Wednesday night, followed by a bomb blast nearby in which two people were slightly hurt.
Police and soldiers responding to a call from Batubuenae Village Moo 5 in tambon Torteng found a burned car in a forested area along the roadside, said Pol Lt Hilamee Anusartsanabut, deputy investigation inspector at the Sungai Padi station, who was alerted by Sukree Yakareeya, the head of Phong village, at 6.58pm.
The car owner, identified later as Pol Capt Ammarit Abbamaraka, 35, deputy investigation officer with the Narathiwat police office, was found dead with gunshot wounds about 20 metres away from the burned vehicle. The body was sent to Sungai Padi Hospital for an autopsy.
Authorities believed the shooting and arson were linked to the ongoing sectarian unrest in the southern border province.
Athalf past midnight, a roadside bomb went off at Lalaeluwat Village Moo 7 in tambon Riko of Sungai Padi while the body of the slain officer was being transported along the route.
The explosion damaged a pickup truck passing the area. Two men on board the vehicle were slightly hurt, said police.