YALA - Authorities have blamed southern insurgents for a roadside bomb blast in Raman district in which two military engineers were injured on Wednesday.
The bomb exploded on a local road along the railway tracks at Kotortuera village in Raman district at about 5pm, as a convoy of five vehicles carrying 21 soldiers was passing. They were on the way back to their base after they finished dredging a canal in another village.
The force of the explosion hit the third vehicle, causing two army engineers to sustain injuries. Sgt Maj First Class Jamorn Channiyom suffered ringing ears and Sgt Phanuphong Phanchan sustained chest pains and eyebrow injuries. They were rushed to Raman Hospital.
Pol Col Adul Ngor, chief of the Raman police station, led police, soldiers and local officials to inspect the blast scene.
Police believed the attack might be the work of insurgents wanting to create unrest.
Violent incidents have been increasing in recent weeks in the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, where separatists seek greater autonomy for the predominantly Muslim region.
Last week four people, including a nine-year-old girl and a 76-year-old blind woman, were killed by gunmen in Tak Bai and Chanae districts of Narathiwat province.
More than 7,000 people have died since 2004 when the insurgency restarted after being dormant for many years.
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