More soldiers hurt by roadside bomb in Thailand

More soldiers hurt by roadside bomb in Thailand
The Nation, July 22, 2012

Southern Thailand's unrest in Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, continued yesterday with two soldiers wounded by a roadside bomb in Narathiwat.

On Friday, first day of Ramadan, a car bomb in Sungai Kolok district wounded eight people, while another roadside bomb in Ra Ngae district wounded seven people, a Ra Ngae district's rubber plantation co-op's storehouse was burned down and a civilian was injured in a Jor Irong district teashop shooting.

Yesterday at 9 a.m., a 5-kilogram bomb exploded, aiming to hurt a six-soldier patrol on three motorcycles in Tambon Manang Tayor's Ban Jood Daeng. It wounded Private Arisman Wayeng and Private Sangworawut Ngamprom, both 23.

Narathiwat Governor Apinan Suethanuwong said the car bomb culprits tried to park the vehicle at a bank but got chased off by guards, so they parked in front of the electrical appliance shop instead. He has had to beef up security at banks in 13 districts.

He said he asked female rangers to help police, soldiers and defence volunteers in manning checkpoints. He also asked for funds from the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre to demolish wooden homes in Ban Tha Reu in Reu So district, where a July 17 attack killed one soldier, two civilians and wounded six others, and build concrete homes that better shield people.

Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 spokesman Colonel Pramote Phrom called for modern tools for checkpoints to boost efficiency in the combined security forces' guarding seven community and economic areas in the region, as per PM Yingluck Shinawatra's "Safety Zone" policy.

Pheu Thai Party spokesman Phrompong Nopparit condemned the car bomb as savage and cruel. He said the party would gather information in the Deep South to help the government, while Nakhon Si Thammarat Democrat MP Thepthai Senapong urged Yingluck to visit the Deep South to oversee and review if the policy was on the right track and agencies were working efficiently.

Sungai Kolok hotel association head Saengthong Preechawuttidech said the car bomb caused Malaysian tourists to check out and go home and it would take a long time to restore their confidence, while Narathiwat Industrial Council chief advisor Pongsak Chutichaowakun said the car bomb aimed and succeeded in hurting the city's economy.