Sixteen Injured In Yala Motorbike Bomb

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Sixteen injured in Yala motorbike bomb

By The Nation

Sixteen people including three students were injured when a motorcycle bomb exploded in front of a school in Yala's Bannang Sata district Tuesday morning. The police promptly apprehended one suspect.

The explosion took place at about 11am on the number 410 road (Bannang Sata-Than Tho) just opposite Ban Tao Poon School. Police arrived at the scene and found a pick-up truck wrecked by the impact and a GMC military truck in a roadside ditch. They collected pieces of a motorcycle and bomb fragments at the scene. The school building's glass panes were shattered and several motorbikes belonging to teachers were damaged by the impact.

The initial investigation revealed that a 10kg home-made bomb had been hidden in the motorcycle parked at the scene and that the suspected insurgents had detonated the bomb as a military soldier truck drove by. The soldiers were transporting tents for locals. The bomb injured nine soldiers, as well as four villagers and three students who were following the army truck. They were rushed to Bannang Sata Hospital. Three people with serious injuries were later transferred to Yala Hospital.

Police later apprehended suspect Waeuseng Waesama, 25, and took him for interrogation to Bannang Sata police station.

-- The Nation 2011-07-19

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16 wounded in Yala motorcycle bombing

YALA, July 19 – A roadside motorcycle bomb blast on Tuesday wounded 16 people, including military personnel and local residents, in front of a school in the southern border province of Yala, according to the Yala bomb disposal squad and forensic unit.

The 16 casualties, including nine military personnel, three students and four residents, have been hospitalised at Bannang Sata Hospital for medical treatment after an explosive device hidden in the motorcycle blew up in front of Ban Tao Poon School inBannang Sata district.

The explosion destroyed one military pickup truck and shrapnel was scattered nearby.

One suspect has been detained and is in custody at Bannang Sata police station for questioning.

A preliminary investigation found that one assailant parked a motorcycle with a built-in explosive device in front of BanTao Poon School. When the vehicle of the local military special task unit passed by on Bannang Sata-Than To Road, the device was detonated remotely by a mobile phone signal.

The insurgency in the three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has intensified since 2004, with over 4,300 people losing their lives, both residents and government officials. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-07-19

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School bombing wounds 18 in Thai south: police

YALA, July 19, 2011 (AFP) - Three young children and 15 adults were wounded when a bomb hidden in a parked motorcycle exploded at a school in the restive Thai south on Tuesday morning, police said.

The device, detonated by mobile phone, was believed to be aimed at soldiers who had gathered outside after escorting teachers to the school in a district of Yala, one of three insurgency-plagued provinces.

Police said seven people were in a serious condition after the attack, adding none of the military personnel was hurt in the bombing.

Panu Uthairat, secretary general of the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, said intelligence reports suggested an increased risk of violence in the Muslim-majority region ahead of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month.

In another attack a 68-year-old retired police officer was shot dead in front of his wife's beauty parlour in Pattani province on Monday night.

More than 4,500 people, both Muslims and Buddhists, have died in almost daily attacks since shadowy insurgents launched an uprising in Thailand's southernmost region in early 2004.

Thailand's outgoing government extended a state of emergency across the restive deep south during its last cabinet meeting last week.

Critics accuse the government of failing to address the grievances of Thailand's Malay Muslims, including alleged abuses by the military and a perceived lack of respect for their ethnic identity, language and religion.

Teachers working in state schools are frequently targeted because they are seen as a symbol of government authority and an education system perceived as an effort by Bangkok to impose Buddhist culture.

The attacks appear to have become more brazen in recent months, with car bombs and assaults on military bases or outposts.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-07-19

[TheGhostWithin]

They got the supposed terrorist, hope the interrogation bares fruit. Animals like this that harm innocents and those seeking to protect freedom of movement and life for all, deserve to burn.