Suspected militant, son killed in Thailand's south
HAT YAI, Thailand (AP) — A suspected insurgent and his 6-year-old son were shot dead in Thailand's violence-plagued south, police said Friday.
The man and his son were attacked at a rubber plantation in Bannang Sata distict in Yala province on Thursday, police Col. Chartchai Chanasit said.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since an Islamic insurgency flared in 2004.
Police were still investigating the attack and had no suspects. They said Muktar Ali-mama, 31, was a member of an insurgent group and the subject of several arrest warrants, including on murder charges.
Chartchai said villagers found out about the shooting on Thursday evening after the two had gone to work on the plantation. He said Muktar died on the spot and the boy died on the way to the hospital from gunshot wounds in his head and left leg.
In a separate attack in the south, suspected insurgents detonated an improvised bomb at a stadium in Sungai Padi district in Narathiwat province, hurting a police officer and a civilian, according to police Lt. Col. Theerapong Tongduang.
The remote-controlled bomb contained in a gas canister was buried in the stadium's parking lot before a local sports event took place Thursday evening. The explosion also damaged several motorcycles.
Theerapong said authorities believed insurgents were aiming to hurt police officers and civilians attending the sports competition.
The militants mainly target security forces but also kill others, including teachers, who are perceived to be representatives of the government in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.
