 A Muslim militant with a bounty on his head was killed in a gunfight with police while he was moving a cache of weapons and explosives in violence-plagued southern Thailand on Monday, police said.
| "Arrrr! Y'll never take me alive, infidel coppers!... Ow!... Ow!... Oooooow!... Rosebud!" |
Muktar Gureng, for whom the government had offered a 500,000-baht ($12,700) reward, sped away in a pickup truck from a police checkpoint in Pattani province.
| "Tyres, don't fail me now!" |
He was chased by police cars and gunned down in a firefight. A companion escaped into a rubber plantation. Eight automatic rifles, more than 800 bullets and explosives were found in the pickup truck, police said. The dead man was one of 74 suspected militants for whom the government, trying to stem violence in the largely Muslim region, had offered big bounties, police said. Nearly 500 people - government officials, police and civilians - have been killed since militants raided an army camp in January and made off with 300 assault rifles. |