PATTANI — Jittraporn Banjong was working in front of the checkout counter when two men with covered faces entered the 7-Eleven where she worked. They fired a gunshot and told everyone to get down before splashing gasoline all over the place.
The four employees escaped through the back door just as the fire spread through the convenience store at a PTT gas station in the Nong Chik district of the southern border province of Pattani. They later learned the attackers placed an improvised explosive device in front of the gas station to attack authorities responding to the scene.
The arson and bombing was among 19 similar attacks to strike three southern provinces Wednesday night, killing three people and injuring five others. In addition to the gas station and military and police targets, many of the attacks targeted infrastructure such as utility poles.