Railway official shot dead; Bunker built

PATTANI, October 23 (TNA) - A railway official was shot dead by suspected insurgents in a village of the southern-plagued Pattani province early Tuesday while marine police built a bunker around their office building in nearby Narathiwat province to protect it from insurgency attacks as violence continues in the troubled region, police said. The latest bloody violence occurred shortly before dawn when two armed gunmen travelling on a motorcycle fired at the railway official while he was riding a motorcycle, heading for work in Khok Pho district, police said. The victim died instantly while police believed that it was the work of insurgents who wanted to take revenge after their colleague was shot dead in Khok Pho district by officials on Sunday. Meanwhile, marine police in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district constructed a bunker around their office building after it was attacked last Saturday. Tak Bai district officer Somsak Sithiworakhan said several of the recent attacks by insurgents in the district were probably taken up by financiers of illegal oil smuggling from Malaysia whose activities were heavily suppressed by officials lately. Mr. Somsak said he believed the financiers hired the insurgents to stage violence in the province. Also, a notorious insurgent who helped in illegal oil smuggling was shot and killed by government forces recently. (TNA)