Seven police and soldiers have been killed and 15 others injured in two bomb attacks in Pattani and Yala provinces, while a former local leader has been shot dead in nearby Narathiwat province.

AMBUSHED: A bomb blast left a large crater on Jampun-Jorleemad Road in Yala’s Raman district and damaged a bullet-proof pickup truck of the 12th Special Task Force.

The first bomb blast went off at 3pm yesterday as a team of police parked their vehicle under a tree near a football field in tambon Plong Hoi of Pattani's Kapho district.

The home-made bomb, hidden under the tree, was detonated by mobile phone signals.

The explosion killed four police officers instantly and injured 13 others, with five seriously hurt.

All were from Kapho police station and were about to take part in a football match with local officials as part of an anti-drug campaign. The dead officers were identified as Pol Sgt Arid Wanlatae, Pol L/C Samart Sorsansa, Pol Sgt Narongrit Suwankhiri and Pol Sgt Kriengsak Thanurak. The injured were taken to hospital.

Half an hour later, a roadside bomb went off as a military pickup truck and two patrol motorcycles drove along Jampun-Jorleemad road in Yala's Raman district.

The impact of the blast killed three soldiers _ Lt Ubon Nu-ied, Sgt Maj Phol Wanwong and Pvt Anuwat Phet-ngam _ and wounded two others _ Cpl Chalermrat Thanapong and Pvt Subin Ied-ruang.

They were among seven officers travelling on the military pickup truck and two motorcycles.

Police inspecting the scene say the blast left a three-metre crater, scattered wires and scraps of a fire extinguisher.

Police say the seven-member patrol unit, headed by Lt Ubon, was patrolling the area after leaving their base at a demonstration farm in tambon Tha Thong in Raman district.

When their vehicles passed the area, the bomb, weighing about 20kg, exploded.

The blast was followed by a gunfight with attackers hidden in a bush. Cpl Chalermrat and Pvt Subin, though sustaining shrapnel wounds, returned fire, prompting the attackers to flee.

In Narathiwat, Abdul-arsi Leumae, 45, a former chairman of Ra-ngae Tambon Administration Organisation in Ra-ngae district, was shot dead on the way to his house yesterday afternoon.

He was driving a pickup truck when four men on two motorcycles sprayed bullets at his vehicle, which hit the roadside divider.

One of the gunmen walked toward the vehicle and fired one more shot at Abdul-arsi's head.

Police suspected the attack was related to the southern unrest.

Meanwhile, three men, including a former ranger volunteer, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in Friday's gun attack on a resident's pickup truck in Raman district.

Panasak Khongrodsri, 26, Nisannusee Samuyama, 30, and former ranger volunteer Muhammad Sayutee Bueraheng, 26, all natives of Narathiwat's Ra-ngae district, were arrested at a police checkpoint.

An M16 rifle, an 9mm handgun, an 11mm handgun, a .38 calibre handgun and bullets were seized.

The arrest followed a complaint by Charoenchai Pornpisutnorakul that a group of men on board a pickup truck fired shots at his vehicle on Friday morning. Police say Mr Panasak was wanted on an arrest warrant for murder and illegal possession of weapons.

Posted in: Seven police and soldiers have been killed and 15 others injured in two bomb attacks in Pattani and Yala provinces,while a former local leader has been shot dead in nearby Narathiwat province.