Thai death toll rises to 112
Police gunned down scores of machete-wielding militants who stormed more than a dozen security outposts, the bloodiest day yet in Thailand’s troubled Muslim-dominated south. The death toll stood at least 112.
Only five of the security forces were killed. The rest were insurgents, mostly teenagers.
The eight hours of mayhem ended when police fired tear gas and bullets into a mosque in Pattani, killing 34 militants who were holed up inside.
Television news reports showed the bodies of suspected Islamic fighters lying in pools of blood, some of them in front of police stations clasping machetes and wearing coloured shirts and camouflage pants.
Gunfire echoed as armoured personnel carriers cruised deserted village streets and commandos moved through forest.
No group claimed responsibility for the highly coordinated assault by possibly hundreds of young militants, although past violence has been blamed on separatists seeking to carve a homeland in the Muslim-majority south of this predominantly Buddhist country.
Army chief General Chaiyasith Shinawatra said that 107 insurgent were killed and 17 were arrested.
He said three policemen and two soldiers were also killed while 15 policemen were wounded.
Soldiers and police – tipped off in advance – were waiting for the poorly armed attackers. Some had guns but most carried only machetes, said Lieut General Proong Bunphandung, the chief of police for the south.
“The security officers have been patiently working with local people and gathering intelligence. We waited for the right time to achieve this success,” he said.
Many parts of the region have been under martial law for months. Security was tightened today along the border with neighbouring Malaysia, which has in the past denied allegations of harbouring militants.
The violence erupted when the insurgents attacked more than 15 police bases, village defence posts and district offices in Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces in a bid to steal weapons.
It was the worst bloodshed seen in the south where almost daily attacks by gunmen have left nearly 160 people dead this year, including today’s toll.
“Most of the dead insurgent are youths of ages ranging from 15 to 20, but two of the leaders are aged about 50 and 60,” Proong said, adding that four of the militants were taken alive.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the raids were linked to a January 4 attack on a military camp in nearby Narathiwat province, which triggered an upsurge of violence in the area this year.
Four soldiers were killed and hundreds of guns stolen in that raid.
However, Thaksin denied the attackers had connections to international terrorists.
“Most of the insurgents are youths from the southern provinces,” he said. “Their acts are not linked with international terrorists.”
