We would like to send good regards to the peoples of the three Provinces of southern Thailand.
PEACE
Especially : Police,Soldier, Commander of the Border Patrol Police Region 4, Pol.Maj.Gen.Suraphong Kemasingki ( love my dad )
(BangkokPost.com) - Southern extremists opened fire on a shuttle van loaded with passengers in Yala's Yaha district Wednesday morning, killing nine Buddhist civilians including two teenage girls.
Militants slaughter 9 on shuttle bus
Three men and six women, including two girls aged 14 and 15, were shot in the head after the insurgents forced the van off the road. The bus driver, a Muslim man, was seriously injured.
The van, which shuttled between Betong district of Yala and Hat Yai district of Songkhla, was ambushed in broad daylight at around 8.20 a.m.
Police said insurgents placed logs on the road to force the van to slow down, which was the moment when they opened fire on the minibus. When it veered off the road, the militants got on and shot the passengers.
After the attack, insurgents threw nails to slow down police. They also placed a suspicious box near the van, which exploded after police and soldiers arrived at the scene but was not planted close enough to wound anyone.
Army spokesman Colonel Akara Thiprote condemned the attack and said the insurgents only attacked people who cannot protect themselves.
"The insurgents attack people who are defenceless and they choose any target. They attack anybody, it doesn't matter if they are Buddhist or Muslim," he told Deutsche Press-Agentur dpa.
Meanwhile, in Bannang Sata district, insurgents ambushed and shot a police officer, who was rushed to a hospital by villagers.
The attacks took place on the anniversary of the founding of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Pattani (BRN) separatist movement, which the government had feared would be marked by major attacks.
09:54 Mar 14, 2007
English
