Deadly ambush amid string of attacks in Narathiwat

The assistant district chief of Ra-ngae, in the restive southern province of Narathiwat, and a woman were killed in an ambush by unidentified gunmen on a road in Ja-nae district early Wednesday morning.

An initial police report said the officer, Monchai Chitkamonkarn, who was in charge of security, was travelling home in a private car with Haida Bueraheang, a resident of Dusongyo subdistrict, at about 1am.

As their car approached Ban Sukae, a group of gunmen hiding in roadside bushes opened fire on the vehicle, killing both occupants.

The motive for the attack is under investigation.

Earlier, in Ra-ngae district, police reported that four construction vehicles at a roadworks site — including a backhoe, a water tanker, a grader and a road roller — were torched, and two workers were tied up by a group of about 10 assailants. A third worker was reportedly abducted but later released.

Several fire engines rushed to the scene and managed to extinguish the fire, but all four vehicles were damaged beyond repair.

Three explosions were reported in Ra-ngae district on Tuesday, but no one was injured.

The first occurred at a shop, the second at a convenience store next to a branch of an Islamic bank, and the third was a device placed in a garbage bin at an intersection on Ra-ngae Road.

Police reviewing CCTV footage from the two shops found that four suspects, riding two motorcycles, had planted the explosive devices inside the outlets before fleeing the scene.