Petrol pump blown up in Yala terrorist attack

A petrol pump was blown up by suspected insurgents at a PTT petrol station in the southern province of Yala on Saturday night. There were no casualties.

Shortly before midnight on Saturday, an explosion was heard at the PTT petrol station by Highway 410 in tambon Thanto, according to Pol Capt Palakorn Srichai. Police were dispatched to the scene to investigate.

One of the pumps caught fire, but nobody was hurt.

Fire engines rushed to the scene and the blaze was quickly brought under control. A police examination revealed that a bomb had been laid at the spot. The petrol pump that caught fire was destroyed.

The service station was cordoned off to allow members of an explosive ordnance disposal unit to search the area for any other concealed devices. None were found. Forensic police arrived at the scene on Sunday morning to collect evidence.

Lt Gen Santi Sakuntanak, 4th Army commander, condemned the Yala terrorist attack, saying it was intended to undermine efforts to restore the economy and tourism in the South.

He said that from security camera footage, the bomb was believed to have been laid by two men who arrived at the petrol station on a motorcycle and fled in the direction of Ban Lae village.

The investigation is continuing.

Thailand’s southern provinces in the Pattani region bordering Malaysia have a largely Malay-Muslim population. The region has suffered a decades-long separatist insurgency which has brought sporadic violence.

A senior member of Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) – the largest and most powerful insurgent group in the Thai Deep South – said recently that it would be open to autonomy instead of independence, if that is what people in the region want.