A group of assailants opened fire into a tea shop in the southern border province of Songkhla Thursday morning, killing two persons and injuring four others. One victim who died at the scene -- a latex buyer who purchased the commodity from local rubber planters -- was not immediately identified. The second victim was Jebahame Huiloh, a subdistrict chief of Tung Por, who succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds and died later in hospital. Meanwhile, four others were hospitalised at Songklanagarind and Saba Yoi hospitals.
A preliminary investigation found that at least five gunmen stopped their vehicle in front of the tea shop in Saba Yoi district, and then opened fire indiscriminately at customers with semi-automatic AK and M-16 assault rifles.
In another incident, two soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in Mae Lan district of Pattani. Investigator found that a remote-controlled five kg bomb hidden by the roadside was triggered by presumed insurgents when six soldiers on three motorcycles passed through the scene as they protected teachers going to school. A combined force of police and soldiers sealed off the area to search for the gunmen.