YALA — A roadside bomb prematurely exploded in Yala province last night, killing the person who was planting the explosive, military officers say.
According to the military statement released to the press, the bomb exploded on a road in Raman district at around midnight, leaving a three-meter-wide crater at the blast site. Security officers who inspected the crime scene determined that the explosive was a 15 kilogram homemade bomb made of a gas canister.
The blast site in Yala province, 21 April 2015.
Security officers also found remains of a human being around the blast site, leading the military to believe that an insurgent was planting the IED when it accidentally exploded. DNA testing of the remains are underway.
The military press report said that the bomb was planted in the spot where an armored vehicle typically parks every morning to conduct a security search.
The southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat have been the hotbed of a separatist insurgency for the last decade. Shadowy Islamic militants regularly stage bomb attacks, arson, and shootings against security forces and civilians in a bid to revive the independent sultanate of Patani, which was annexed by Thailand in early 20th century.
More than 6,200 people are believed to have been killed since the secessionist campaign broke out in the region, known as the Deep South, in 2004. Around 60,000 security officers have been stationed in the Deep South to combat the insurgency.
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