Thai officials announced Thursday that a manhunt is underway following a deadly ambush in the country’s volatile southern region that left five soldiers dead and six civilians wounded.
According to the regional Internal Security Operations Command, approximately 10 attackers opened fire and hurled pipe bombs at soldiers stationed at a security checkpoint near a residential neighborhood in Narathiwat province on Wednesday evening. The assailants then fled the scene. Among those hurt was a 10-year-old boy, who remains hospitalized but is listed in stable condition.
Photographs released by Thai authorities show a group identified as the attackers dressed in black clothing and hats, riding in the bed of a black pickup truck. Officials later located the vehicle abandoned and set ablaze roughly 21 kilometers — about 13 miles — from where the attack took place.
Authorities say the attackers made off with three AK-47 rifles, three bulletproof vests, and three mobile phones taken from the soldiers.
Narathiwat, together with the neighboring provinces of Yala and Pattani, forms Thailand’s southernmost territory. These three provinces are the only ones in the predominantly Buddhist country with Muslim-majority populations. The region has been gripped by a Muslim separatist insurgency since 2004, a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives over the decades.
Muslim residents in the area have long voiced frustration over what they describe as second-class treatment within Thailand. Separatist activity has ebbed and flowed for decades, with aggressive government crackdowns widely seen as deepening local resentment. While violence continues today, it has diminished compared to earlier years.
The Internal Security Operations Command Region 4, the agency responsible for security in southern Thailand, posted on Facebook that it would “expedite the investigation and search for the perpetrators with the best efforts.”
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul strongly condemned the assault. According to government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek, the prime minister described it as a “terrorist attack that clearly aimed at killing government officials, and a serious threat to national security.”
Video broadcast by public broadcaster Thai PBS revealed that nearby homes and properties also suffered damage in the attack. One residence sustained harm to its roof, windows, and doors, and a motorcycle parked outside was completely destroyed. Another home showed bullet holes spread across its metal front gate.
