Two highway police vehicles were destroyed and a police kiosk in Sai Buri district of Pattani province sustained heavy damage when an improvised explosive device (IED), suspected to have been planted next to the kiosk by insurgents, was detonated late Friday night.
Four highway police officers, who were inside the kiosk, which houses a space for temporary rest and communications equipment, escaped unhurt, but the concrete wall and a bunker were heavily damaged.
According to an initial police report, two men riding a motorcycle with side car arrived at the kiosk at about 11pm and placed a 15kg gas tank, believed to contain an IED, adjacent to the kiosk and immediately sped away. Shortly afterward, the IED detonated.
Meanwhile, in Rue So district of Narathiwat province, a wood processing plant was set ablaze early this morning, allegedly by arsonists, causing heavy damage to five cars. The fire was extinguished by firefighters.
