BANGKOK: Five Thai soldiers were killed in a shooting and bomb attack at a checkpoint in the country’s insurgency-hit south, the army said, one of the deadliest such incidents in years.
Six civilians were also wounded in the Wednesday (Jul 22) evening attack in Narathiwat province, local officials said.
A screenshot of CCTV footage posted on the Facebook page of Narathiwat authorities appeared to show six suspects dressed in black travelling in a black pickup truck at around 6.45pm on Wednesday (7.45pm, Singapore time).
The post said the suspects fled towards a neighbouring district and authorities had sealed off the area.
Members of Task Force Ranger Regiment 45 “were killed when assailants opened fire and threw pipe bombs at the Bukeh Sami checkpoint … while they were on duty protecting local residents”, the army said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The public relations department of Narathiwat province said six civilians were hurt, adding that no group had claimed responsibility and no arrests have been made.
Narathiwat Governor Boonchuay Homyamyen visited the injured at a hospital, including a 10-year-old boy who suffered a leg wound, according to the province’s Public Relations Department.
A low-level conflict has simmered in Thailand’s southernmost provinces since 2004, killing more than 7,000 people, as rebels in the region battle for greater autonomy.
In 2019, a group of separatists threw grenades and opened fire on a checkpoint in the southernmost province of Yala, killing 15 people, including local security forces, and wounding five others, according to monitor group ACLED.
Thai authorities claimed the rebel group Barisan Revolusi Nasional was responsible, ACLED said.
Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, a human rights researcher at Amnesty International, told AFP that while attacks in Thailand’s deep south mostly target security personnel, the incident on Wednesday was “different in terms of death tolls and young civilians that were injured from crossfire”.
The army paid tribute to those killed on Wednesday, saying: “Their service and sacrifice will be remembered and honoured with the highest respect.”
Opposition leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut condemned the attack in a Facebook post late on Wednesday, saying he regretted the loss of the five soldiers.
He urged the Thai government to address the situation urgently and called on the prime minister to “expedite efforts to identify and prosecute the suspects, while providing assistance to those affected and the families of the victims”.
