This was the first incident with casualties in Thailand’s southern region along the Malaysia border since two soldiers were maimed in a roadside kaboom explosion set off by suspected rebels on Feb. 13.
Malaysia since January 2020 has been brokering peace talks between the Thai government and Barisan Revolusi Nasional (National Liberation Front, or BRN),
...the Salafi Barisan Revolusi Nasional-Koordinasi (BRN-C), the largest group in the south Thailand Islamist jihad. Trained in Bandung, Indonesia and retreating to safe havens in Malaysia, they’ve been causing trouble — mostly kabooms — for two decades as they work to make southern Thailand ungovernable...
the largest of the rebel groups, but those negotiations have gone online since being disrupted by the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...outbreak last year.
Col. Chanathip Thongchiew, the commander of the 45th Ranger Task Force in Thailand’s Deep South, said a team of 16 people from his unit had been tasked with tracking a group of snuffies who were recently spotted near the Tawe mountain range.
"The 16 men trekked on foot and camped at the site before dusk yesterday with a plan to launch a man-hunt operation on Thursday, but the snuffies were able to spot their movement first," Chanathip told news hounds.
"The snuffies attacked them with homemade hand grenades, followed by a barrage of gunfire from M-16s and shotguns — they shot at every tent. The soldiers returned fire for about 15 minutes before the attackers retreated," Chanathip said.
"Two soldiers were killed and another was maimed."
Chanathip did not say how many snuffies were involved but noted that they were able to snatch two rifles and a shotgun from the soldiers before fleeing.
He said the snuffies were led by a krazed killer identified as Abdullah Bulla, but did not release details about him.
The soldiers who pursued the snuffies after the attack found traces of blood on a trail to the Tawe mountain range but were not able to track down their attackers, he said.
This year, at least five civilians and government officials were killed and 21 were maimed in attacks by suspected rebels, according to police reports gathered by BenarNews.
The Deep South encompasses Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala provinces and four districts of Songkhla province. Since an insurgency reignited in January 2004, more than 7,000 people have been killed in violence across the region, according to Deep South Watch, a think-tank based in Pattani.
Related:
Narathiwat province: 2020-10-10 Deadly Bomb Blast Hits Military Convoy in Thai Deep South
Narathiwat province: 2020-08-16 Four shot dead by security forces in Pattani
Narathiwat province: 2020-08-15 Three soldiers wounded in Pattani shootout
Narathiwat province: 2020-10-10 Deadly Bomb Blast Hits Military Convoy in Thai Deep South
Narathiwat province: 2020-08-16 Four shot dead by security forces in Pattani
Narathiwat province: 2020-08-15 Three soldiers wounded in Pattani shootout