Thai troops have seized control of a strategic hilltop position on Mount 350, in the area of Prasart Ta Kwai ancient ruins in Phanom Dong Rak district of the northeastern province of Surin, and have located the bodies of two fallen soldiers, Army Spokesman Maj-Gen Winthai Suvaree announced this afternoon.
He said that Thai troops are now in the process of retrieving the bodies to the army base, away from the front line.
The two soldiers, Sgt. Maj. Samroeng Klangprakone and Pvt. Phanupat Saosa, were killed on December 16th in fierce fighting with Cambodian forces in an attempt to regain control of Mount 350, which has been the scene of intense battles over the past several days.
Thailand’s Second Army Region command reports that attempts to retrieve the bodies of the two fallen soldiers had been hampered by constant mortar and rocket fire, as well as drone attacks by Cambodian forces hiding in fortified bunkers.
Maj-Gen Winthai said that Thai troops are now trying to take full control of Mount 350.
Meanwhile, the ‘Army Military Force’ social media page claimed today, citing a report from a Cambodian emergency foundation, that 18 Cambodian troops were killed in an air strike by a Thai Air Force F-16 fighter jet this morning.
The F-16 struck at a Cambodian forces trench, in Vieng Vel district of Cambodia’s Pursat province, killing 18 soldiers, according to the website.
