Ambush, Explosions In Southern Thailand
A bomb exploded outside a mosque in southern Thailand on Wednesday, wounding eleven Muslims, police said.
The attack came the same day and in the same district as a brutal morning ambush of a commuter van, which was stopped by suspected Muslim insurgents who shot dead eight of its Buddhist passengers execution-style.
Col. Apirat Sangkhao, the police chief in Yala province's Yaha district, described the bombing as "an attempt to pit Muslims against Buddhists."
No one has taken responsibility for either attack.
Thai army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprot blamed the insurgents for the bombing.
"They want to trick people into believing that this is retaliation," he said, referring to the earlier killings of the Buddhists.
"They want to cause divisiveness between people of different religions," he said.
He said the village where the bombing took place was one of the few in the area that didn't cooperate with the insurgents, who otherwise have a strong influence there.
Apirat later said another bomb exploded at a teashop in Yaha, killing one and injuring several others.
In the day's first and only deadly attack, men armed with assault rifles first shot at the driver and then opened the side door of the van and fired at each of the passengers, he said. The driver, who was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the face, was the only survivor from the morning attack.
"Everyone was shot in the head at close range, execution style," Kitti said.
The van was shuttling people from the Betong district of Yala province to Hat Yai, the south's major city, in the neighboring province of Songkhla. All of the passengers were identified as Buddhists and the driver was Muslim.
Police and soldiers were searching for the attackers, he said.
The attack came as authorities beefed up security for the Tuesday anniversary of the founding of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or National Revolution Front separatist group. Police had warned that insurgents might try to mark the anniversary with violence.
The BRN was formed in 1963, partly in opposition to the Thai government's policy at the time of forcing southern Muslims to assimilate into predominantly Buddhist Thai society. The government later changed the policy.
Military officials believed that BRN-Coordinate, a BRN offshoot, has played a vital role in the current violence.
Gen. Montree Sangkhatrap, head of Thailand's Internal Security Operation Command, said heightened security measures would be in effect through March 22. He did not give details of the measures or any specific security threats.
"Certain groups of people have plans to actively instigate violence during this period," he said.
Drive-by shootings and bombings occur almost daily in Thailand's three Muslim-majority provinces — Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.
Violence has increased since a military-installed government took power in September following a coup that ousted then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Police, soldiers and Muslims viewed as collaborators with the government, along with Buddhist civilians, are targeted by the insurgents.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The attack came the same day and in the same district as a brutal morning ambush of a commuter van, which was stopped by suspected Muslim insurgents who shot dead eight of its Buddhist passengers execution-style.
Col. Apirat Sangkhao, the police chief in Yala province's Yaha district, described the bombing as "an attempt to pit Muslims against Buddhists."
No one has taken responsibility for either attack.
Thai army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprot blamed the insurgents for the bombing.
"They want to trick people into believing that this is retaliation," he said, referring to the earlier killings of the Buddhists.
"They want to cause divisiveness between people of different religions," he said.
He said the village where the bombing took place was one of the few in the area that didn't cooperate with the insurgents, who otherwise have a strong influence there.
Apirat later said another bomb exploded at a teashop in Yaha, killing one and injuring several others.
In the day's first and only deadly attack, men armed with assault rifles first shot at the driver and then opened the side door of the van and fired at each of the passengers, he said. The driver, who was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the face, was the only survivor from the morning attack.
"Everyone was shot in the head at close range, execution style," Kitti said.
The van was shuttling people from the Betong district of Yala province to Hat Yai, the south's major city, in the neighboring province of Songkhla. All of the passengers were identified as Buddhists and the driver was Muslim.
Police and soldiers were searching for the attackers, he said.
The attack came as authorities beefed up security for the Tuesday anniversary of the founding of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or National Revolution Front separatist group. Police had warned that insurgents might try to mark the anniversary with violence.
The BRN was formed in 1963, partly in opposition to the Thai government's policy at the time of forcing southern Muslims to assimilate into predominantly Buddhist Thai society. The government later changed the policy.
Military officials believed that BRN-Coordinate, a BRN offshoot, has played a vital role in the current violence.
Gen. Montree Sangkhatrap, head of Thailand's Internal Security Operation Command, said heightened security measures would be in effect through March 22. He did not give details of the measures or any specific security threats.
"Certain groups of people have plans to actively instigate violence during this period," he said.
Drive-by shootings and bombings occur almost daily in Thailand's three Muslim-majority provinces — Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.
Violence has increased since a military-installed government took power in September following a coup that ousted then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Police, soldiers and Muslims viewed as collaborators with the government, along with Buddhist civilians, are targeted by the insurgents.
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right assumption of typical Muslim, except I happen to be a female of greater tolerance for my grandparents have suffered back in Europe because they partly belonged to the Jewish Faith.
You%u2019re discussing the beliefs of 1.5 Billion people, which represent a quarter of the Planet population... what is terrible about it, is you%u2019re fast position-taking and your judgement toward a faith that is so effective that is grew better and faster than any other faith on earth. Of course they may be poor, yet because of US and west-supported tyrants in the Islamic Countries and that is precisely why they are fighting the colonisers, like any truthful auto-determination believer should fight and resist, to a certain point giving up the miserable life (they can expect if they knelt in front the occupier), for a better one in the then after.
But then again what is poverty? Why is poverty taking place? What standards are you using to qualify the Islamic world of poor? Why is Haiti the poorest country in Western Hemisphere while its neighbour Dominican Republic is not so poor? Isn%u2019t it a Christian country? Why Cuba has maintained a decent level of standard of life?
(please see continued1%u2026)
Tell us here why is Dubai-UAE booming to become the hottest commercial spot on Earth? Is Dubai Christian or by any chance a Jewish, Buddhist or atheist country? Why Saudi Arabia is blossoming now and been the case since the last 40 or so years?
What an attitude of despise you have toward the nations of Islam by stripping them off the reputation of being able to be good scientists. Hello epiker! Hello! Astronomy, chemistry, al-gebra, medicine, war sciences and military, finally and not the least, human sciences (psychology and divine legal system settings (sharia!)). Truly similar to the Judaic Halaka%u2019s settings our ancestors have brought up and refined during the 5000 years of existence. With the exception they justly thrived during the 1400 yrs of existence whereas our Jewish ancestors and us, are still struggling with low fertility.
Can one say that all the previous were an improvement over previous efforts done by other nations or cultures? Yes of course and no doubt about it. The same way we were pleased to take over and improve the knowledge from them. This knowledge does belong to all Humans who can make it useful to the society.
(please see continued 2%u2026)
You talk about violence: really low level of observation: epiker, who dropped the first atomic Bombs? Who performed the pogrom in the middle of the last Century in Europe? Who is invading other%u2019s countries? Who is spending the most per capita for military in the world? Who is polluting the atmosphere, the soil, and the seas with industrial wastes? Who is not sticking to the Kyoto protocol? Who has the most Nuclear Weapons, and could destroy the Planet so many times that it is ridicule to count?
Who has the least rates of AIDS propagation? Who has the least home violence and alcoholism in the world? Have you asked yourself those questions epiker before you say your judgemental words and condemn?
(Please see Continued 3%u2026)
(...continued 3)
Can anyone tell what had brought the West to the benefit of the Islamic world? Have you ever met a Muslim scientist or a Muslim scholar? Have you ever listened to what they have to say? Doubted%u2026 We better listen to what they have to say; after all they are a better, more resistant version of us.
Finally I have to agree with you regarding the last part of your comment: Unfortunately Darwin better and improved version of evolution enriched with the genetic-accident-and consequent-phenotypic expression has not been introduced into the concept of creation, which make all humans equally sacred creatures as per the United Nations charter of rights, because every Creature is a miracle successfully performed by the CREATOR. I subscribe to the sadness of seeing the suicidal causing his own and others%u2019 death. Peace! Shalom! Salam!
Its interesting how you compare me to Hitler for wanting to eliminate a dangerous ideology from humanity (so we can all live in genuine peace) when in reality Islam is nearly identical to Nazism. With the difference being the nazis hatred was fueled by the myth of "race" and your hatred is fueled by the myth of a "god". Both groups despise the Jews, have a fascist/totalitarian agenda, are extremely intolerant and violent, are mysogynists and commit genocide against anyone who doesn't fit your mould.
Islam's time has come-eventually the free world will no longer put up with it and will relegate it to the history books. As for what muslims will "convert to" is up to them. We're all born atheists-we have no "a priori" knowledge of a god. The idea of god is taught and was invented by people 2000 years ago. Its time we recognize that all religions are mythologies and put them to rest-too many people have suffered and died over these ridiculous superstitions and fairy tales.
Lol goat, typical muslim, you resort to ad hominems and distortions rather than address the argument at hand. Nowhere did I state that muslims will be "cleansed" so don't put words in my mouth. I spoke about eliminating Islam because its a violent, anti-human ideology and also the radicals that refuse to change.
However, if it comes to all out war its the muslims that will be "dealt with" by the West. In fact we're doing that already in Iraq, Afghanistan and soon to come, Iran. The US/allies are in the process of democratizing the mideast.
For all your tough talk, muslims are very weak, economically and culturally (apart from your greedy shieks) and have failed states. That's why they form the bottom 5th of the world in terms of poverty and they fight like rotten scoundrels and cowards-blowing up buses with women and children or using them as human shields. Your 'Allah' must be proud of having such violent, psychotic hate-mongers as his followers. (sarcasm)
But if muslims are supposed to be the "masters" why did Allah give us infidels all the wealth, power and ingenuity? Oh and don't try to use that lie of how Islam gave the world its science/math etc. History proves (through muslims own records) that it was all stolen/translated from civilizations they conquered like India and Persia.
(cont'd)
We also need to blow the cover off their scheme so the world knows what their aim is and then we can deal with them honestly. They won't say it but they are at war with us (dar-ul-harb), so we can't be under any illusions-we should give them a war also, not just by working to eliminate their ideology of hate but also by taking out their radicals.
Posted by epiker'
-epiker, very interestng your way of thinking. Very similar to square mustache Adolph Hitler. He started like you with an idea of cleaning the world of the Jews and ended up blowing the air for Auschwitz camps, and gaz chambers... with the help of BenVXI predecessors silence.
Poisoned-mind like yours are sure existing, and need to be dealt with. When will your highness start the cleansing? Unfortunately for your likened minds, Muslims have spread around the world and your project may truely be harder than what you think. BTW what would you convert those muslims to? would be interesting to know from your highness.
The moderate and radical muslims both want to topple our democracies and establish Islamic states ruled by Sharia Law. The radicals just use violence, the other use "peaceful means" through population explosion/infiltration of our states, getting into politics/govt and destroying us from within.
They want to undo centuries of cultural advancement and thrust us back into the dark ages and won't stop until Islam is banned from humanity. Some of them can be reasoned with, most can't, so its just best that we non-muslims unite and make sure we undermine them with every means possible.
We also need to blow the cover off their scheme so the world knows what their aim is and then we can deal with them honestly. They won't say it but they are at war with us (dar-ul-harb), so we can't be under any illusions-we should give them a war also, not just by working to eliminate their ideology of hate but also by taking out their radicals.
Posted by trueprogress
-Wassup true regress?
But it is encumbent on them to cry out.