Yala blasts injure 5 security personnel
Five security officers were wounded by two explosions in Yala yesterday, less than a day after the province was hit by 35 simultaneous bombings, arson attacks and tyre-burning incidents on Thursday evening.
The latest unrest erupted as authorities vowed to tighten security in the province and denounced the violence on Thursday that caused small-scale damage to property and caused blackouts in some areas.
The first bomb yesterday went off close to 8am near Ban Khuan Moo 5 in Muang district as an armoured vehicle carrying seven Lam Mai police made its way to inspect a blast site from Thursday near the Chanan intersection, police said.
The attack injured Pol L/Cpl Athit Thammakhan, Pol L/Cpl Natthaphong Yimnoi and Pol L/Cpl Kittiphong Chanta.
The three are being treated in Yala Hospital.
An initial inspection by a bomb disposal unit at the crime scene found pieces of explosive materials identified as parts of a home-made bomb stuffed in a gas container weighing about 20kg. The bomb was buried under a roadside tree and detonated as the vehicle drove past.
Just after 8am yesterday morning, another bomb wounded a soldier and a military ranger at Ban Phothong in tambon Ban Hae in Than To district, according to media reports.
The victims, also admitted to Yala Hospital, were Sgt Maj 1st Class Ratchadet Kawin and military ranger Wichian Panya.
The two are attached to the 33rd Ranger Regiment.
Than To is among eight districts in Yala that suffered a total of 14 separate bombings and 21 arson attacks, mostly to electric transformers and power poles, and tyre-burning incidents on Thursday.
In Than To, the blasts and the arson attacks damaged electric transformers at Ban Lubo Saniyae Moo 4 in tambon Ban Hae.
Attackers also set fire to tyres in the same tambon, officials said.
Similar incidents were also reported in Muang, Kabang, Yaha, Bannang Sata, Betong and Krong Pinang districts of the province.
The militants wanted to destroy state property and cause panic among the general public, Internal Security Operations Command spokesman Maj Gen Banpot Poonpian said yesterday.