Car bombs in three southernmost provinces
The car bomb which went off in front of a cock fighting ring in Tambon Na Pradoo, Kok Po district of Pattani on July 23, killing two people and wounding eight others, including a 12-year girl was the second of its kind this year in the three southernmost provinces and the 42nd since 2004.
The two dead victims were identified as 39-year old Mrs Krisana Kwanpetch, 74-year old Mrs Pinom sae Sim.
Another car bomb exploded on May 6 at Hat Yai police station but Hat Yai is not in the three southernmost provinces.
The pickup truck used as a car bomb was an Isuzu D-Max carrying a fake licence plate belonging to Mr Saroj Duangsuriya, an official at Prince of Songkhla University’s Pattani campus, who was killed by militants and the car stolen on May 28. It has since been put on watchout list.
But police thought that the perpetrators might have wanted to detonate the car bomb at the Na Pradoo market but could not get the rigged pickup truck into the market without being detected by security forces.
On the same day that the car bomb exploded in Tambon Na Pradoo, suspected militants robbed a milk delivery pickup truck belonging to the chair of Nam Bo Tambon Administration Organisation in Panareh district of Pattani.
The militants forced the driver, Imron Mingyuda, and his assistant, Ms Supatcharaporn Seesan-ngarm into another pickup truck. The two who were blindfolded and their mouths gagged, hands and legs tied were driven to Sai Buri district where they were abandoned at Ban Pa Thung intersection.
On the same afternoon, the stolen truck was found abandoned in front of Panareh police station. A bomb demolition squad was called in to check out the vehicle which was suspected to be rigged with explosives.
The team used a jammer to cut off telephone signals as they searched for improvised explosive device. They found hidden in the truck an explosive-stuffed huge gas tank which has a double triggering system – by mobile phone and radio transmitter.
Also found in the truck were several bottles of gasoline which were intended to enhance the effectiveness of the bomb.
Police said that the militants made six phone calls to try to detonate the car bomb but it didn’t go off probably they forgot to dial a 4-digit code which was needed to activate the double-triggering mechanism or because of the jamming system.
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Caption : Car bomb in Tambon Na Pradoo, Kok Po district of Pattani on July 23