Female Ranger Steps On Land Mine In Pattani

[Lite Beer]

Female ranger steps on mine

By The Nation on Sunday

Two soldiers were injured when one of them stepped on a landmine while inspecting a crime scene yesterday morning in Panare district, while two villagers were wounded when a hand grenade was thrown at a teashop in Mae Lan district.

After a report that a Ban Pa Kapor postman's house had been shot up by war weapons and a nearby ranger's outpost burnt down on Friday night, forensic soldiers went to the scenes at 10.45am yesterday to investigate and collected 20 spent cartridges as evidence.

They found and destroyed a landmine near the outpost, but female ranger Sujirada Inmuang, 29, stepped on another mine. The explosion severed her left leg and some shrapnel also injured Sgt Somwong Petsing, 51.

Security officials put up a warning sign prohibiting people from entering the area, which was a large block of abandoned land and may have more mines. They plan an inspection in two months, after which any remaining bombs should have expired.

Earlier yesterday, one of two men on a motorcycle threw a hand grenade at a teashop in Ban Khlong Sai of Mae Lan district, injuring Tambon Mae Lan Administrative Organisation member Manee Maneerat and former railway officer Euan Sornkaew.

Police investigators found that six local police and eight residents were drinking tea in the shop belonging to Pol Snr Sergeant Major Weerapong Pomsakul of Mae Lan police station, when two men rode by and threw the grenade.

Pattani Governor Nipon Narapitakkul said insurgents launched attacks in Panare, which has a relatively large Thai Buddhist community, and Mae Lan districts prior to the Islamic month of fasting - Ramadan - tomorrow, as insurgent leaders misguided subordinates and sympathisers by saying attacks during this time would bring great merit.

Region 4 Internal Security Operations Command chief Maj-General Akara Thiproj echoed a similar opinion.

He said the attack in Mae Lan affected Thai authorities' credibility, as Mae Lan was one of three districts, which were shifted since December 2010 from being under the emergency and marshal laws to under the Internal Security Act.

Mae Lan was declared safe recently under the Internal Security Law, so such an attack aimed to cause people to live in fear, while Panare had a large community of Thai Buddhists, he said.

In neighbouring Yala, a seven-strong patrol on a pickup was ambushed by suspected insurgents on a rural road in Bannang Sata at 4pm yesterday. Volunteer ranger Chalit Noosang, 31, was shot in the right wrist.

In related news, the 14 train services to the three southernmost provinces resumed yesterday after being suspended, pending repairs after bomb attacks on Wednesday in Narathiwat's Ra Ngae district. The Southern Railway Office also beefed up security by having five fully-armed railway police and security volunteers onboard each train, while security officers also patrolled the route prior to the first train, to restore people's confidence that things were safe.

-- The Nation 2011-07-31

[Latindancer]

"insurgent leaders misguided subordinates and sympathisers by saying attacks during this time would bring great merit."

The Koran does not teach this, I'm sure !

How on earth did these moronic insurgent leaders twist religious teachings so much ? Perhaps a failure in the education of the people they actually get to perform these atrocities ?

Buddhist leaders say that doing good things for other people will bring great merit............what a huge contrast this is !