CCTV shows about 50 insurgents involved in seizure of Cho-airong hospital, Narathiwat

[webfact]

CCTV shows about 50 insurgents involved in the seizure of Cho-airong hospital



NARATHIWAT: -- About 50 insurgents were involved in the temporary seizure of the Cho-airong district hospital in Narathiwat province Sunday evening, said an informed security source quoting footages of surveillance cameras installed at and around the hospital.

The insurgents who mostly wore black used the hospital and patients as a shield to attack a paramilitary ranger outpost located close to the hospital wounding several rangers.

From the video footages, the insurgents sneaked into the hospital from two directions: one group descended from the mountain behind the hospital, walked on the road and entered the hospital from a side gate and another group entered from the front gate.

After having seized the hospital, the insurgents then fired upon the rangers at the nearby outpost with M79 grenades and automatic gunfires.

The rangers, meanwhile, exercised restraint in their response to the attack for fear that some of the patients and medical staff in the hospital might get hurt. Reinforcements later arrived to lay siege to the hospital prompting the insurgents to retreat toward the mountain.

Authorities are now busying examining all the CCTV system to try to identify the insurgents.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/155192


-- Thai PBS 2016-03-16

[Somtamnication]

Pathetic. Good on the rangers, but I would have shot back. I would have gone behind the hospital, I would have called for helicopters, I would have surrounded the place. 50 pigs escaped afterwards?

[apetley]

Wasn't it only last week we were being told the talks with the terrorists/insurgents were coming along nicely?

[ramrod711]

The gutless cowards who mostly wore black used the hospital and patients as a shield to attack a paramilitary ranger outpost located close to the hospital wounding several rangers.

[hansnl]

May I offer the remark that using women, children and other non-combattants is a typical means of terrorism favoured by followers if a certain "religion of peace?"

Including crying foul if any if the human shield are hurt or killed by the opposing forces?

Do I see an influence here?

Indirectly or directly?

[Doc46]

Wasn't it only last week we were being told the talks with the terrorists/insurgents were coming along nicely?

They only will tell you what you want to hear Talk is cheap All talk no action same with all the Laws in LOS ,, Land Of Symbols''

Edited March 16, 2016 by Doc46

[TPI]

They appeared to be very well organised, everyone carried a "long arm" and they had M60 type machine guns? 50 men leave quite a large track, it's all a little suss, 50 men attack a ranger post, no deaths on either side, many many CCTV images and the attackers supposedly "Melted" into the mountain!

[tominbkk]

What was the point of the insurgency?

[jamesbrock]

2016 and still no Thai has worked out how to get footage from their security system other than record it with a mobile...

[tuanku]

Could it be a "false flag" operation?

[Cuchulainn]

Remind you of any other gutless terrorist vermin who laid siege to a hospital using patients as shields?

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Seriously, what is wrong with Thai police and military that they can't surround a building to prevent people from escaping.

Every, and I mean every single time, you here of an operation to arrest people they always have people escape from the rear exits.

How stupid are these clowns? DAMN!!!!

[seajae]

as the back was the obvious escape route why wasnt it set up for an ambush, anyone would think that the thai soldiers dont want to shoot at anyone, they appear to avoid conflict as much as possible and when they do they cant hit anyone with their bullets anyway, how pathetic are they, Soldiers are trained to shoot these guys seem to lie down and cover their heads then shoot into the air so they dont have to expose themselves to any live fire, do they even understand tactical work or are they simply boys playing games.

[JAG]

Pathetic. Good on the rangers, but I would have shot back. I would have gone behind the hospital, I would have called for helicopters, I would have surrounded the place. 50 pigs escaped afterwards?

as the back was the obvious escape route why wasnt it set up for an ambush, anyone would think that the thai soldiers dont want to shoot at anyone, they appear to avoid conflict as much as possible and when they do they cant hit anyone with their bullets anyway, how pathetic are they, Soldiers are trained to shoot these guys seem to lie down and cover their heads then shoot into the air so they dont have to expose themselves to any live fire, do they even understand tactical work or are they simply boys playing games.

1. There were only a small number of Rangers in the outpost.

2. There were 50+ attackers.

3. If you are a small number of friendlies pinned down by fire from 50+ heavily armed enemy occupying a hospital, which contains medical staff and patients returning fire indiscriminately will lead to what is nowadays euphemistically called, collateral damage, or put bluntly civilian deaths

4 Helicopters? It takes time, even if the helicopters are based nearby, to launch an airborne counter attack. You need to know where the enemy are, where is a secure LZ and routes from the LZ too the objective. You cant just leap into the helos and roar off all guns blazing apocalypse now style. That leads to more "collateral damage", and you would probably end up killing yourself.

5. Snap ambush behind the hospital? How many different routes are there up that hill? do you know which one(s) the enemy will use, do you have routes to them recce d and known to whoever is going to mount the ambush (remember you are pinned down by a much larger force).More "collateral damage" would be the most likely result.

6 If you ( a small number of lightly armed rangers)are pinned down by 50+ enemy, with the advantage of hard cover (and probably height) which the hospital gave them, and the firepower they deployed ( machine guns) then returning accurate and effective fire without exposing yourself (and getting killed) is very difficult if not impossible.

It rather seems to me that the Ranger outpost did well to avoid being overrun, and in avoiding losing a much greater number dead or wounded.

Youre right, such a large number of heavily armed men will leave tracks etc. Catch them with a determined follow up. That could last several days if not longer. Is that/was that done, we don't know. I rather doubt it.

[katana]

Looks like they put some effort into smashing up the hospital: 2mins 45sec