Two Policemen Killed, Two Villagers Wounded In Ambush In Thai South

NARATHIWAT, July 29 (TNA) - Two policemen were killed and two villagers were wounded before dawn Sunday after a group of insurgents ambushed policemen while they were patrolling in a village of Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat, police said. The incident occurred as Thai Muslims in Thailand began their observance of the holy fasting month of Ramadan for the first day Sunday. Police said that at least 10 insurgents divided into three groups fired at policemen while they were patrolling in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district, killing two policemen instantly. The rest of four policemen then radioed and asked for reinforcements. Both sides exchanged gunfire over 20 minutes before the insurgents retreated, police said, adding that they believed some of the insurgents might have received injuries. Police later moved into the scene of fighting and found two villagers were accidentally shot and wounded. Police said that they were searching for the wounded insurgents and were inspecting at hospitals as they believed the insurgents might have visited for treatment. In nearby Songkhla province, Somchart Pimthanapoonporn, president of Hat Yai – Songkhla Hotels Association, opined that more than 70 per cent of hotel rooms in Hat Yai district were booked by non-Muslim from Malaysia during a four-day holiday in that country, started from last Thursday. The tourists decided to spend holidays in Hat Yai before the Ramadan started, enabling the atmosphere in the district to become very lively, said Mr. Somchart. It is expected that Malaysian tourists would visit Hat Yai again, known as shopping paradise in the deep South, after the Ramadan ends. (TNA)