Songkhla: An assailant fired an M79 at a construction worker’s residence at the Guan Yin Shrine in Thepha District, Songkhla Province, injuring three people. The assailant was found to have left threatening leaflets in Thai and Burmese.
According to Thai News Agency, at 6:10 a.m. today, officials were notified of an explosion inside a construction worker camp at the Guan Yin Shrine in Ban Pak Bang Sakom, Village 1, Sakom Subdistrict, Thepha District, Songkhla Province. The incident caused a fire in the camp, injuring three workers and damaging one pickup truck.
After water was sprayed to contain the fire, Thepha police and security officers inspected the scene and found leaflets with threatening messages in Thai and Burmese that said, ‘If anyone works on this project here and in the three southern border provinces, we warn you to stop or we will not guarantee your life.’
While the workers reported that at the time of the incident, they heard two loud explosions. As for the weapon used by the perpetrators,
officials initially suspect that it was an M79 grenade launcher fired from a distance. The bomb disposal team is currently inspecting and collecting evidence to make it clear before security agencies conclude whether it was a bomb attack to create a situation or what the real cause was.
The latest report is that there have been two more explosions on the side of the road at the edge of the rubber plantation, on the route to the Kuan Yin construction workers’ camp, which are only 100 meters apart. The first explosion occurred at 10:30 a.m., while the second exploded at 10:46 a.m. Although no one was injured, officials had already cordoned off the road leading to the construction workers’ camp, as the bomb disposal team assessed the situation and suspected that there might be more bombs to lure officials along the entrance.
However, the second bomb explosion this morning was very loud and caused panic among students of Yala Rajabhat University Demonstration School, who were attending a Boy Scout, Girl Scout,
and Senior General Scout camp at a resort about 500 meters from the bombing. As a result, teachers decided to cancel the scout camp activities that were being held today and tomorrow and rushed the students back immediately for safety reasons.
After the four bombings, the bomb disposal team increased their intensity and scanned the surrounding area thoroughly for maximum safety in clearing the area. As a result of the incident, Songkhla, Yala and Pattani today issued a warning and raised security measures to the highest level in the four border districts of Songkhla, Chana, Thepha, Nathawi and Saba Yoi, including risk areas of Songkhla Province, to prevent a repeat of bombings that could cause chaos in the city.