Violence kills five in Thailand’s deep South

BANGKOK, November 4 (TNA) - Five people, including one insurgent, were killed and up to 10 others wounded in a series of attacks in southern Thailand, which lasted from Saturday night until early Sunday. Police said the first incident occurred Saturday night when a bomb weighing 30 kilogrammes hidden inside a parked truck exploded behind Ruso police station in Narathiwat province. Two people were killed and up to 10 others were left wounded. Another explosion occurred about a kilometre away near a school, wounding four people, including an 11-year-old boy. Shortly afterwards, another police station on a highway linking between Sungai Kolok and Tak Bai districts came under attack from M79 grenades. No casualties were reported from the blast. Police reported another incident early Sunday when two men were shot dead by unknown gunmen in the woods in Yi-ngo district. Security operatives also exchanged gunfire with insurgents on Sunday morning in Songkhla province, where a key insurgent, wanted for several arrest warrants, was shot dead at the scene of fighting. More than 5,000 people have died since suspected separatists resumed their armed campaign to seek independence for the three southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala more than eight years ago. (TNA)