21-10-2023 (BANGKOK) Suspected insurgents launched a series of coordinated attacks in Tak Bai district of this southern border province in the early hours of Saturday, police reported.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., an improvised explosive device (IED), cleverly concealed inside a fire extinguisher cylinder, was detonated outside a gold shop in tambon Chehe, causing significant damage to the front section of the shop. The incident was immediately reported to Pol Lt Col Jarukit Sridech, the acting chief of the Tak Bai police station.
Simultaneously, a group of unidentified gunmen opened fire at a security checkpoint situated about 50 meters from the targeted gold shop. This sudden attack prompted seven officers stationed at the checkpoint to respond with gunfire, resulting in a prolonged gun battle that lasted for over 30 minutes. When additional reinforcements arrived, the assailants fled into a nearby forest.
In the aftermath, law enforcement officers received another report of a roadside bombing that had destroyed a power pole approximately 200 meters from the checkpoint. Additionally, authorities discovered an explosive device strategically positioned beneath a power pole on the opposite side of the road.
Later in the morning, local villagers alerted the police to the discovery of two more IEDs along a local road in tambon Chehe, prompting authorities to cordon off the area. Subsequently, police received reports of yet another roadside bombing in tambon Khosit of Tak Bai. The explosion caused ten power poles to collapse, temporarily obstructing traffic flow.
In tambon Muno, located in Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat, Pol Col Direk Chomyong, the acting chief of the Muno police station, reported two separate incidents on Saturday morning. The first involved the detonation of a homemade bomb, resulting in damage to a power pole in a nearby village. In the second incident, a concealed bombing device was found within a fire extinguisher, strategically placed beneath another power pole.
The circumstances surrounding these incidents are currently under investigation.
These attacks occurred on the eve of the 19th anniversary of the Tak Bai massacre, which took place on October 25, 2004. During the tragic event, 85 protesters lost their lives due to suffocation after being arrested and piled on top of each other in two military trucks while being transported to a military camp in Pattani province.
