PATTANI — A suspect was apprehended Thursday afternoon in an attack which left four paramilitary officers dead inside a Pattani province school.
The military said assailants disguised themselves as rangers this morning before going into the Ban Bukoh School in Pattani’s Yarang district, not far from where a bomb injured a 12-year-old schoolgirl two days ago. Once inside, the attackers opened fire on four members of the Volunteer Defense Corps and stole their guns.
Officials said the four victims were pronounced dead on the scene. No teachers or students were injured. The attackers also scattered nails at the school’s exits in an attempt to stall the pursuit.
Update: Guns and Suspects Seized in Pursuit of Pattani School Gunmen
One teacher said only gunshots were heard as the attack happened while classes were in session. All students were evacuated from the premises and a security unit deployed to the scene, according to the military.
Maj. Gen. Piyawat Chalermsri, chief of Pattani police, said a suspect was detained this afternoon following a firefight. He said police were tipped off about two suspicious men hiding behind the city’s Krue Se Mosque. Another suspect, believed injured in the gunfight, was able to escape while police said they found discarded ranger uniforms hidden nearby.
It was the third such attack in the restive south in recent days. On Tuesday, a soldier and a 12-year-old girl were injured when a bomb exploded near another school in the same district. That same day, a teacher in Songkhla province was murdered and his truck used for a car bomb which injured six police officers.
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