Separatists target commercial areas?
Economic targets appear to be the southern separatists’ choice of bombing attacks in the restive far South, according to security sources.
The latest target was Asia hotel in Su-ngai Kolok district of Narathiwat. A small improvised explosive device (IED) thought to weigh around five kilogrammes went off inside a room on the third floor of the hotel at about 11 a.m. on May 18. The blast punched a large hole on the hotel’s roof and damaged five other rooms. Six guests were injured. There was no death.
Police suspected that the bombers checked into the hotel room with the bomb, then left the room and detonated the bomb with a clock.
Although the hotel is small and should not have been the choice of attack, security officers believed that the bombing was intended to stir up panic among the locals as well as tourists with the intention to ruin the tourism industry in the border district which is a favourite retreat for Malaysian male visitors who cross the border, mostly during the weekends, to seek pleasure and entertainment.
The sources explained that Asia hotel was chosen because of lax security compared to bigger hotels in the border district which have better security, including bomb scanners installed at hotels and security personnel.
Besides Asia hotel in Su-ngai Kolok, two other commercial areas hit by bombs were in Pattani on May 9. One bomb exploded in front of Diana shopping mall and the other struck a car showroom.
Another major bomb attack occurred on a four-lane highway in Yaring district of Pattani on Saturday May 11. A powerful bomb hidden under the road was detonated when a bus carrying naval personnel and their families drove past the spot, killing one naval non-commissioned officer and injuring seven others. The group was on their way back from Hat Yai where they earlier visited wounded naval personnel at Songkhlanakarin hospital.
The May 11 incident was the first of its kind that took place on a four-lane highway which is normally guarded and frequented by many motorists and public transport. The explosion caught many security officers by a big surprise wondering how the perpetrators could place a bomb under a busy road without any detection.
The Asia hotel’s bomb blast was also the first of its kind as most bomb blasts in the past took place outside a hotel or a shopping mall and not inside a hotel.
Pattani senator Anusart Suwanmongkol noted that the separatists had escalated the violence after the start of the peace talk process between the government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional separatist group since February 28.
One man suspected of involvement in the Asia hotel’s bomb explosion has been arrested by police with the help of surveillance cameras near the hotel. The suspect was one of the two men shown on the cameras walking out of the hotel shortly before the explosion.
Four other men who stayed in hotel rooms at the time of the explosion were also held for questioning. But they denied knowing anything about the attack.
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Caption : Asia hotel in Su-ngai Kolok district of Narathiwat