One para-military ranger was killed and two others were injured in a roadside bomb blast, believed to have been remotely detonated by insurgents, in Ba Cho sub-district of Bannang Sata district in the southern restive province of Yala this morning (Saturday).

According to Bannang Sata district police, a small para-military unit, led by Sgt. Wichien Panyo, was on routine foot patrol along a narrow side road, with thick grass and shrubs on both sides, at about 7am.

Insurgents may have been lying in wait in the woods, not far from a large tree, where they had planted an improvised explosive device (IED). When the patrol was adjacent to the tree, the device exploded.

The force of the blast injured all three patrolmen, who were rushed to the district hospital by reinforcements who arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion.

One of the injured was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The road was closed to unauthorised people, to allow an explosive ordnance disposal team to comb the area for any other IEDs.

Police said the IED which detonated weighed between 10 and 20kg.