SONGKHLA — Security officers have detained two men accused of engineering the coordinated bombing attacks that rocked Songkhla province in May.
Usman Daman, 27, and Adae Che-ubong, 29, were arrested this morning by soldiers and police officers in Songkhla province and taken to the headquarters of 41st Army Ranger Unit for interrogation, security officers say.
According to police, Usman and Adae are behind the three bombs that targeted state agencies and commercial areas in Songkhla's Haat Yai district on 6 May. The car bombs injured 10 victims and severely damaged buildings in the district, but no fatalities were reported.
Haat Yai, Songkhla province, 6 May 2014.
Police also told reporters that the two men are connected to an insurgent cell that exchanged gunfire with security officers in Saba Yoi district on 4 December.
At least 6,200 people have died since secessionist violence broke out in the southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in 2004. The violence also occasionally spills into some districts of Songkhla province.
The bloody campaign has been waged by shadowy Islamic militant groups seeking to revive the independent sultanate of Pattani that was incorporated into modern Thailand in the early 20th century.
In contrast to the rest of country, where the vast majority of Thais are Buddhist, the Deep South is dominated by Muslims who speak a Malaysian dialect and often do not consider themselves Thai.
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