A para-military ranger was killed and another injured when a road checkpoint in Janae district in the southern province of Narathiwat came under a gun and bomb assault this morning (Monday).
According to Pol Col Adul Ngoh, of Janae district police, a group of insurgents approached the checkpoint, in front of a paramilitary outpost, from roadside bushes and, when they were about 20 metres from the steel barricade, one of them opened fire with an M16 assault rifle, killing one of the rangers manning the checkpoint.
The insurgents later lobbed an improvised explosive device at the checkpoint and continued to fire their automatic rifles, before retreating back into the bushes.
According to the police, a ranger was shot dead and another sustained injuries in the bomb blast.
The rangers and police later searched two houses near the checkpoint and found about spent 20 bullet casings.
Police say that the rangers were reluctant to shoot back, concerned that their gunfire could injure villagers living near the checkpoint.
Insurgent groups, seeking self-determination, have been waging attacks against Thai security forces in the Deep South since 2004, which has claimed more than 7,300 lives to date.
