Two members of Sukhirin's territorial defence volunteer force were killed and 16 were injured in a roadside bombing and gun attack in Narathiwat province on 18 September 2026.
The six-wheel truck carrying all 18 volunteers overturned after the blast on a village road in Ban Blukaya-ing, Moo 2, Rom Sai subdistrict, Sukhirin district. Gunmen then opened fire from dense roadside vegetation, officials said.
Pol Col Prapot Lomkhet, chief of Sukhirin Police Station, was notified of the attack and reported it to senior officers. Sukhirin district chief Pichit Rungprasert, soldiers and police officers went to the scene.
Bomb hidden in gas cylinder
Police found the Isuzu six-wheel truck, Bangkok registration, upside down. The two dead and injured personnel were trapped beneath the vehicle and were taken to Sukhirin Hospital.
About 20 metres away, investigators found a crater two metres deep and three metres wide. Debris indicated that the improvised explosive device had been built inside a cooking-gas cylinder and planted beneath the road surface.
No detonator was recovered. Bomb fragments were scattered across the road and into the thick grass along the roadside.
The two volunteers killed were Irin Kaewrawang and Nattanun Kaewsuphothi.
The 16 injured were Sulaiman Nakwarin, Rudi Sawa, Samsu Dueramae, Adisorn Daengsi, Phaisarn Sithong, Anan Pui, Nattapong Wongwai, Chinawat Rattanaphong, Manorm Puiruk, Alham Ngae-ngoh, Makoseng Kaji, Subhan Chehdue-loh, Amrin Khunthong, Suhan Duere, Amnan Suding and Dulfatah Saha. Sulaiman, Makoseng, Subhan, Amrin, Amnan and Dulfatah were reported to be seriously injured.
Attack followed Narathiwat festival trip
Investigators said the volunteers had been returning to their Sukhirin base after attending a boat-racing competition at the Khong Dee Mueang Nara festival in Mueang Narathiwat district.
An unspecified number of attackers are believed to have waited in the roadside undergrowth before detonating the bomb as the truck passed. After the vehicle was thrown and overturned, the attackers fired at the volunteers, who returned fire with their service weapons.
The gunmen then escaped, using their knowledge of the area, according to the initial investigation.
Authorities believe the attack may have been carried out by a violent group in retaliation for the deaths of two suspected bomb-makers during a security operation on the Tawae mountain range on 9 September 2026.
Pictures courtesy of Daily News
Join the discussion? 
18 September 2026
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment