Five police injured by 'second bomb'


A bomb hidden near a crime scene in Rangae district went off yesterday, injuring five officers investing a mysterious package that turned out to be a hoax explosive.


None of the five was seriously injured, police said.

The use of second bombs by militants in the South has become a com-mon occurrence, making it even more difficult for authorities dispatched to the region to quell an ongoing insurgen-cy.

Insurgents were also blamed for the bombing on Friday night near a crowded Yala teashop that killed one woman and injured 28 others, both Buddhists and Muslims.

A leaflet was found near the Ah Liang teashop in Yala town, claiming that the bombing had been carried out in retaliation for a grenade attack on June 3 at a football game in Ban Bue Su village in Bannang Sata district.

Locals accuse Rangers of firing with an M79 grenade launcher at the crowd watching the match, killing one person and injuring 18.

The dispatch of Rangers in the predominantly Malay-speaking region has come under tremendous criticism by the local Muslims, who accuse the government's militia of putting them in the line of fire with the insurgents.

Moreover, many accuse the Rangers of reckless behaviour, including firing at a local mosque and private Islamic boarding schools.
In Songkhla, Boonlert Yorsan, head of the village chiefs association in Saba Yoi district, yesterday said he planned to lobby the Fourth Army Area to impose a curfew in his district amid growing concern that more violence will come their way.


The Nation
NARATHIWAT