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| Southeast Asia | |
| Fourth victim of triple bombing in southern Thailand dies | |
| 2011-09-18 | |
| The latest victim of Friday evening's series of three bomb attacks in Narathiwat province succumbed to his injuries yesterday, bringing the total to four deaths and 74 injuries. Authorities sent two teams to hunt for the perpetrators along the Malaysian border, and suggested the attacks might have been in retaliation by a drug syndicate for a recent anti-narcotics operation. Police continued to inspect the three bombing sites yesterday. They suspect the attackers comprised four teams, one to plant each bomb and a fourth to detonate them, possibly from a hotel room with a clear view of all three spots. Police were checking security cameras placed along the road for evidence of the suspects, who are believed to be Runda Kumpalan Kecil (RKK) sympathisers hired by drug syndicates in the area to carry out the attack in retaliation for a major drug bust. There were 78 casualties in the three bomb attacks. Besides the three Malaysian tourists - including a 3-year-old boy - who died at the scene, a rescue worker later succumbed to his injuries. Forty of the 74 injured people remained hospitalised as of yesterday. Seven were in serious condition, some with broken limbs and some with burns to more than 50 per cent of their bodies. Thai officials shared the view that the bombing of the commercial and tourist area was the work of insurgent sympathisers who had joined with illicit drug syndicates for the purposes of getting money, undermining state power, and intimidation. They said the attack was most likely in retaliation for a major drug bust in Sungai Kolok on Tuesday, as the authorities had found videos relating to the southern insurgency on a seized cell phone, along with a list of people thought to be involved in drug dealing and another list of names connected with oil-smuggling bribes. Two teams are hunting for the attackers, while security along the Thai-Malaysian border has been beefed up and immigration police put on alert. Shaken residents said the attacks were the worst to have hit the district. Anchalee Udomsilpa said this was the worst incident since the unrest erupted in 2004. "I can still feel the shaking caused by the third bomb, which was followed by a blackout. I was so frightened; I didn't know where the bomb had gone off, only that it was near," she recalled. In the neighbouring province of Pattani, security officials set up checkpoints around the clock to look for suspicious vehicles, as intelligence officials warned of possible further attacks in busy areas of Pattani town. Meanwhile, 29-year-old paramilitary volunteer ranger Anan Rattana, the sole survivor of Thursday's attack on his six-man team, was recovering from serious injuries and expected to be taken off a respirator today.
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| Posted by:ryuge |