Bombs kill two rangers in restive southern Thailand

[News_Editor]

Bombs kill two rangers in restive southern Thailand

2011-04-30 20:33:14 GMT+7 (ICT)

YALA, THAILAND (BNO NEWS) -- Two separate bomb explosions on Saturday killed two paramilitary rangers and injured nine others in restive southern Thailand, police said.

The Bangkok Post reported that suspected separatist militants detonated a home-made bomb on the local road at Ban Kortor Tuera of Yala's Raman district when a pickup truck carrying rangers was passing by. Police said five rangers were seriously injured.

Shortly after a second bomb exploded when paramilitary rangers were on their way to the incident scene. The suspected militants began firing at the rangers, killing two of them and wounding two others.

The blasts took place as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy for security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban were visiting the nearby province of Narathiwat.

On April 18, a similar incident killed an army ranger and injured at least 23 people. Police said the blast came from a home-made bomb containing 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of explosives hidden in a vehicle parked in front of a drug store in the business area of Yala, which is located in the country's southern most tip near the Malaysian border.

Since 2004, around 4,000 people have been killed in Thailand's southern regions of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, as local insurgent groups renewed their fighting efforts against the government. More than 7,000 people have been injured in violent incidents launched by separatist militants.

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