[Bangkok Post] Seven armed rebels in military-style uniforms on Saturday night raided the office of a local administrative office in Tak Bai district, tied up three employees, then set fire to the building and an emergency rescue vehicle before fleeing with a pick-up truck. The building and the emergency rescue vehicle were damaged. The janitor said that when he returned to the office to be on night duty at about 9:30 p.m., he saw seven armed men in military-style uniforms waiting at the entrance gate and waving at him. Believing they were soldiers, he stopped his motorcycle, only to be held up at gunpoint.
About ten minutes later, two members of the TAO's rescue team also arrived. They were held up and forced to walk along with the janitor in front of a water pump building. All of them were tied up with nylon rope and blindfolded. The raiders then set fire to several parts of the office and the emergency rescue vehicle before fleeing with a pick-up truck.
About an hour afterwards, the janitor managed to free himself and the two other men. He then reported the incident to someone who called the police to set up security checkpoints to intercept the stolen vehicle for fear that it could be later turned into a car bomb, but they found no trace of it.
The police found this morning that the rebels had brought chairs and desks to the reception hall of the TAO office, piled them up and set them on fire. The fire damaged the wall and the ceiling. A storeroom on the second floor of the building was also set ablaze.
On Sunday morning, the pick-up truck stolen from the TAO office was found abandoned near a ranger outpost in Sungai Padi district. Rangers who examined the vehicle found that a home-made bomb had been installed in it.
The bomb was connected to two gas cylinders and a power circuit. A bomb disposal unit was called. After using a robot to open the truck doors and disconnect the power circuit, the unit removed both gas cylinders from the vehicle. Four cans of gasoline left on the back seat were also removed.
Police believed that after stealing the pick-up truck, the rebels installed the bomb and drove it from Tak Bai to Sungai Padi district, possibly with an aim to use it in a violent attack in Sungai Kolok. But, on seeing the rangers' security checkpoint, the militants decided to abandon the vehicle and fled.