PUBLISHED: 23 Jan 2025 at 19:28
NARATHIWAT: Seven defense soldiers were injured when a bomb exploded at a palace of a Buddhist convent in Rangae region of this southwestern Thai border state on Thursday.
The soldiers, attached to Ranger Company 4511, were patrolling the area to ensure safety for local authorities who were attending an tambon operational company appointment, police said.
An impromptu explosive machine hidden in the palace was detonated when the soldiers stopped to rest there, authorities said. The convent is located in Chulabhorn Pattana 5 town in tambon Bo Ngo.
Officers believed it was the work of southern rebels targeting security forces patrolling the area.
All seven wounded guards were rushed to Rangae District Hospital for treatment.
The broken structure was cordoned off as explosive disposal experts and criminal officials moved in to collect evidence.
Separately, in Pattani’s Khok Pho area, Pol Sgt Maj Muhamad Muya Heedeen, a crime reduction agent at Khok Pho police depot, was ambushed on Khok Pho-Pa Bon street as he was riding home on a motorcycle after his patrol duty on Wednesday night, police said.
Assailants hiding in bushes on the roadside fired three gunshots at him, but he managed to run for cover and escape unharmed, police said. Police are investigating.