Militants Derail Nakhon Si Thammarat Train In Pattani

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Militants derail train in Pattani, 18 people injured, Tues June 5

A soldier walks past a train that was derailed by insurgents in Pattani province yesterday. The incident resulted in the suspension of rail services in the region.

Rail services in the deep South were halted yesterday after militants derailed a train in Pattani's Khok Pho district. At least 18 people were injured while transport was paralysed.

Track bolts were pulled out and rails destroyed in about five locations in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat overnight, according to Thanongsak Phong-prasert, head of the State Railway's southern centre.

The train was en route from Nakhon Si Thammarat to Yala when it came off the tracks near Khok Pho's Na Pradu station at about 7am.

The SRT cancelled 24 train services in the three southernmost provinces until the lines were completely repaired and the situation was back to normal, Thanongsak said.

Trains from the upper part of the country terminated at Hat Yai Junction, he said.

Militants frequently sabotage trains and tracks in the deep South. An attack in April injured a score of passengers and halted services for days.

Yesterday's act of sabotage was the latest incident in ongoing violence that has rocked the predominantly Muslim region since January 2004. More than 2,000 people have been killed so far.

An ambush in Narathiwat's Si Sakhon district killed one policeman and injured two others as they escorted teachers to school at 8.30am yesterday.

Militants set off a bomb as the group passed the site and then opened fire.

There was a brief exchange of gunfire before the attackers retreated.

In Pattani's Khok Pho district a roadside bomb injured a police officer on patrol at about 8.30am yesterday.

Meanwhile, thousands of protesters ended a five-day demonstration in Pattani's central mosque yesterday after reaching an agreement with authorities to set up a 50-member committee to investigate incidents of violence in the region in which local residents claim they have been denied justice.

The group began their protest on Friday. They also demanded the withdrawal of troops and an end to the curfew in the region.

Source: The Nation

Insurgents derail southern train; six passengers injured

PATTANI, June 4 (TNA) – Hundreds of rail passengers are stranded in Hat Yai and other rail stations and services have been suspended in the wake of a train derailment and coordinated disruptions of train service in three southernmost provinces Monday morning.

Load-bearing tracks gave way on a State Railways of Thailand (SRT) passenger train in Pattani after presumed insurgents loosened the bolts on sections of railway track in the three southernmost provinces, causing train derailments and disruption of rail services in the mainly Muslim region.

A Yala-Nakhon Si Thammarat passenger train, carrying about 100 persons, derailed in Pattani, with six passengers sustaining minor injuries.

Police found some 40 bolts removed from the railway line between Khok Pho and Na Pradoo stations, causing the engine to slide off the rails.

There were reports of portions of railway being unbolted in several locations in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, but there have been no other indication of injuries to SRT passengers, crew or railway workers, and no other reports of damage to rolling stock.

In Yala, suspected insurgents pulled out 28 bolts from tracks near Bantase train station in the provincial seat. A portion of the railway line was damaged as tires were burned on it.

All train services along the affected routes have been halted, while officials work on restoring the rails.

Meanwhile, four police officers from teacher protection units were shot by suspected insurgents on Monday morning in two separate attacks in Pattani and Narathiwat.

An early morning roadside bombing injured one police officer in Khok Pho district. The bomb exploded as a teacher protection unit passed through.

An hour later, assailants ambushed police protecting teachers in Narathiwat's Sri Sakhon district. Three police sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to hospital. A combined forces of military and police are searching for the attackers.(TNA)-E004

Source: MCOT news