Five Thai soldiers killed in southern Thailand checkpoint attack

Email: online@newsofbahrain.com

Bangkok: Armed attackers opened fire and dropped pipe bombs at a security checkpoint in southern Thailand's Narathiwat province on Wednesday evening, killing five Thai paramilitary soldiers and injuring six civilians, including two children.

The attack occurred at the Bukeh Sami checkpoint in Ra-ngae district, which was manned by Task Force Ranger Regiment 45. According to police, approximately ten attackers clothed in black arrived in a pickup truck and on motorcycles before commencing the assault with firearms and explosives.

Before escaping, the attackers reportedly took three AK-47 weapons, Kevlar jackets, and mobile phones from the checkpoint. The pickup truck used in the attack was later discovered abandoned and set ablaze some 21 km distant.

The incident wounded six bystanders, including a three-year-old toddler and a ten-year-old boy. The attack occurred a day after a different car bomb exploded outside a former police station in Narathiwat, injuring a police officer and destroying the structure.

Thailand's southern border regions, particularly Narathiwat, have been involved in a decades-long separatist conflict. Since 2004, the violence has killed over 7,000 individuals, with security forces frequently targeted in attacks. The current assault is one of the worst against Thai security forces in recent years.