Municipal Office Attacked: Bomb Thrown, Garage Set Ablaze
A rebel group has launched another terror attack in the southern border province of Pattani, Thailand. The brutal assault destroyed and set fire to a municipal office, following a storm of violence that had shaken the far southern region the previous day.
According to the Bangkok Post, the latest attack occurred at the Pho Ming municipal office located in tambon Pho Ming, Panare district, on Sunday at around 9.10 pm. A security guard post was reportedly bombed and the office garage was completely burned down.
The deadly incident severely damaged a rubbish truck, a rescue pickup truck, and a fire engine. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
As background, this horrific incident came after approximately 50 apparently highly coordinated bomb and arson attacks in the southern border provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala on Saturday night. Those incidents resulted in two women being injured.
In Bangkok, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow stated that officials have so far been unable to determine the precise motive behind the surge in violence. Sihasak, who oversees security solutions for the region, admitted he did not know who was actually behind the violence, but said he was deeply concerned about the increasing frequency of attacks.
“There is early intelligence pointing to a coordinated violence plan, and the security authorities should have made swifter preparations to address it,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Director of the National Intelligence Agency Thanut Suvarnananda assessed that the attackers may be attempting to strengthen their negotiating position, given that peace restoration talks for the far southern region are likely to resume at the end of October. Thanut also noted that the attacks were symbolic in nature as they specifically targeted government offices and property.
“The dissidents may also wish to expend ammunition and explosives they have stockpiled, fearing they would be damaged and deteriorate during the rainy season,” he explained.
Furthermore, the government’s crackdown on contraband goods may also have triggered the escalation of such attacks, given that authorities recently seized large quantities of illicit drugs in the region. Although the motives are varied, Thanut confirmed that intelligence officials certainly know which parties are actually behind the spate of attacks.
“However, we cannot reveal their names,” he concluded.