Two insurgents were shot dead by security forces in Kho Pho district of the southern province of Pattani on Thursday, after they refused to surrender and opened fire first, following hours of failed talks.
A combined force of troops, police and local administration officials was dispatched to Ban Tha Klong in Khok Pho sub-district after they received a tipoff that a small group of insurgents was hiding in a house in the village.
Security forces laid siege to the suspected house and then asked a Muslim religious leader and a community leader to talk to the insurgents inside the house and try to persuade them to lay down their arms and surrender.
The talks went on for several hours before the negotiators pulled out. Then, the insurgents opened fire at the security forces as they tried to break through the siege, sparking off a fierce firefight which continued intermittently until the gunfire eventually subsided.
The security forces then broke into the house where they found two insurgents lying dead.
One of the dead was identified as Musleem Jehma, who was the subject of several outstanding arrest warrants.
Musleem was among 13 suspects arrested for alleged involvement in a bomb attack on a Bangchak petrol station on August 17, 2022, in Pattani. The public prosecutors decided indict only one suspect though. The others, including Musleem, were released due to lack of evidence.
