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Southeast Asia
Eight soldiers killed in ambush in southern Thailand
2008-01-14
Thailand records its 37th beheading in four years

Southern terrorists militants ambushed a teachers' protection team in Narathiwat province on Monday morning, killing eight soldiers in a fierce firefight and beheading one. The squad was surprised by an unknown number of terrorists insurgents in Chanae district of Narathiwat, spokesman Col Akara Thiprote said.

The army gave few details in its first announcement. Spokesmen said there was an intense, 30-minute exchange of gunfire with militants, who were positioned to cause the maximum casualties in the ambush.

The ambush of the teachers' protection squad resulted in the highest military casualties in a single attack this year - and was one of the worst ever. It was the 37th recorded beheading by southern terrorists militants since the resurgence of the separatist movement four years ago. "This is a big loss for the army," Col Akara said. "It is one of our worst days. We will do our utmost to hunt down the killers."

The terrorists fighters who ambushed the patrol were likely to be living locally in the tight-knit Muslim communities in the area, making it tricky for security forces to identify them, he added. "We really need some good intelligence to guide us," the spokesman said. "These people will bury their guns and turn into ordinary villagers before we reach them. It is not easy."

The patrol had been returning to base after escorting teachers to a government school. Teachers have been frequently targeted because the terrorists separatists consider them to be agents of a central government dominated by the country's Buddhist majority.

Elsewhere on Monday, in Sungai Kolok district, suspected insurgents torched GSM mobile phone signal facilities at several locations, disrupting mobile phone services. Fresh produce bound for Malaysia had to be left at the border because food exporters could not contact their customers. In Pattani province, two mobile phone towers and three public telephone booths were burned.

At the same time, police in the area said they believed six suspected militants who escaped from a jail cell over the weekend used small fishing boats in their getaway. The six are believed to be members of Runda Kumpalan Kecil, one of several separatist groups operating in the mostly Muslim southernmost provinces of Thailand. Narathiwat's police chief, Major General Pongsak Nakvichit, said he hoped they would be recaptured soon but said there would be a thorough investigation as to how the six escaped, reported the TNA.
Posted by:ryuge

#1  The wages of appeasement.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2008-01-14 08:02  

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