[Bangkok Post] Abdultore Kaso, a former leader of the RKK insurgent group in Songkhla, was gunned while on his new job. He was attacked late yesterday morning by unidentified men when he got out of his pickup truck to give ice to customers in Thepha district, police said. An initial examination found he had been shot several times by gunmen armed with a small rifle and a pistol. Investigators are determining whether the murder was the result of a personal conflict or an insurgency-related incident.
Abdultore had served as a leader of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil, or RKK, which was active in Saba Yoi district. Its members are guerillas trained to stir unrest in the Muslim-dominated provinces in the far South. He had been allegedly involved in many violent incidents, including ambushes and bombings. However, after he was arrested and the charges against him dropped, he decided to join the state program which is intended to help draw people out of the insurgency.
Three days before Abdultore was killed, key insurgent group leader Bukhori Lamso was spotted in Thepha district, according to an intelligence source. His appearance may have been related to the attack, he said.