Bangkok: The perpetrators ambushed the Volunteer Defense Corps officers in two consecutive locations in Yala and Pattani, resulting in the deaths of two officers and the injury of another. They further escalated the situation by setting fire to a vehicle and shooting at the base of operations.
According to Thai News Agency, the first ambush occurred on April 27, 2015, at around 10:00 p.m. in Khao Tum Subdistrict, Yarang District, Pattani Province. An unknown number of assailants used firearms of an undisclosed type and caliber to attack a white sedan carrying members of the Volunteer Defense Corps (VDC) from the Khao Tum Subdistrict Protection Unit. The assault led to the immediate death of VDC Usman Chijai, while VDC Mosadik Kera sustained serious injuries and was transported to Yala Hospital.
Police investigations at the scene uncovered several shells from war weapons and handguns. It was revealed that the assailants, numbering at least three and fully armed, had been lying in wait near the scene. After the officers completed their mission and parked their car in front of their house, the attackers emerged from their hiding spot and immediately opened fire on the vehicle. The attack is suspected to be the work of a local insurgent group aiming to create unrest, having likely monitored the officers' movements to execute their plan.
The second incident occurred shortly thereafter, between approximately 12:30 and 12:40 a.m. Another group of assailants attacked M.O. Thirawut Phuttarat, a member of the Defense Volunteers' Protection Unit of Taling Chan Subdistrict, in Village 1, Taling Chan Subdistrict, Bannang Sata District, Yala Province, resulting in his death. The assailants then attacked the base of the Defense Volunteers' Protection Unit and set fire to the deceased's personal vehicle, completely destroying it.
Authorities, including police, military, and administrative officers, have initiated thorough investigations at the scenes to collect evidence and pursue the perpetrators. The unrest in Yala Province continued later that morning when a bomb planted by the perpetrators injured three Border Patrol Police officers in Ban Sri Thanam, Than To District, Yala Province.