Thai soldiers examine the wreckage of a
military pick-up truck at the site of a bomb blast in Thailand's
insurgency-torn southern Yala province, 1 June. (Xinhua/AFP
Photo)
BEIJING,
June 1 (Xinhuanet) -- Southern Thailand experienced some of its worst violence
to date Friday when seven worshippers were killed when suspected insurgents
fired into a mosque and a roadside bomb killed 11 paramilitary troops almost
simultaneously, the army said.
The bomb exploded Thursday on a road in the Bannang
Sata district in Yala province as government-hired paramilitary rangers drove
by, killing 10 of them instantly, said Thai Army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprote.
Another ranger died later at the hospital.
Almost immediately after the bombing, an unknown
number of assailants opened fire on a group of Muslim villagers leaving a mosque
after evening prayers in nearby Sabayoi district of Songkhla province, killing
five villagers at the scene, Akara said. Two others died later at the hospital.
It was not immediately clear why the worshippers were
attacked but officials blamed Muslim rebels.
"The insurgents opened fire on the Muslim villagers
and put the blame on the authorities ... They want to create an impression that
authorities cannot take care of the Muslim people in the area," Akara said.
"Worse still, they want people to think the authorities did it to poison the
relationship between the government and the local population."
Thai military authorities have blamed such attacks on
Muslims bent on intensifying hatred against the government and to radicalize
Muslims and push them into joining the insurgency.
Some Muslims believe the security forces, or even
Buddhist vigilantes, might have a hand in the attacks.
Since a Muslim rebellion flared in the three
southernmost provinces in early 2004, near-daily bombings, drive-by shootings
and other attacks have killed more than 2,200 people.
BANGKOK, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Police have detained six
young men in Hat Yai district of Thailand's southern province Songkhla over
suspicion that they were involved in the coordinated seven bombings which hit
the southern business hub city last Sunday night, media here reported Thursday.
According to the Thai News Agency, the six suspects,
all young men from the insurgency-plagued southernmost provinces of Yala and
Pattani neighboring Songkhla, were detained Wednesday night at a rented house in
Hat Yai. Full story
BANGKOK, May 31 (Xinhua) -- A patrol unit of
paramilitary troopers was ambushed in Thailand's southern border province of
Yala on Thursday night and at least ten soldiers were killed, a local military
source told Xinhua.
The unit from Paramilitary Troopers Taskforce 41 was
patrolling Yala-Betong Road in Yala's Bannang Sata district at 9:30 p.m. (1430
GMT) when suspected insurgents detonated a roadside bomb, the source
said. Full story
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