Bangkok (VNA) - Suspectedinsurgents launched a series of coordinated attacks in Tak Bai district, the southernborder province of Narathiwa, Thailand on October 21, the country’s police forcesaid.

꧑ According to acting chief of the Tak Bai policestation, an improvised explosive device (IED), assembled inside a fireextinguisher cylinder, was detonated outside a gold shop in tambon Chehe,causing damage to the front part of the shop.

He said a group of unidentified gunmen also opened fire at asecurity checkpoint, about 50 metres from the gold shop. This prompted sevenofficers stationed there to fire back at the attackers, leading to a gun battlethat lasted more than 30 minutes. The gunmen fled into a nearby forest afterreinforcements arrived.

Officers later received a report that a roadsidebombing destroyed a power pole about 200m metres from the checkpoint. They alsodiscovered an explosive device placed beneath a power pole on the opposite sideof the road.

🗹 On the same day, villagers alerted the police whenthey found two more IEDs along a local road in tambon Chehe, and authoritiescordoned off the area. Later, police were later alerted to anotherroadside bombing in Tak Bai's tambon Khosit. The explosion caused 10 powerpoles to collapse, blocking traffic temporarily.

Meanwhile, in Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat, Pol ColDirek Chomyong, the acting chief of the Muno police station, reported twoincidents on October 21 morning - a homemade bomb was detonated anddamaged a power pole in a village, and a bombing device hidden in a fireextinguisher was found beneath another power pole. The incidents occurred on the eve of the 19th commemoration of the Tak Bai massacre on Oct 25, 2004, in which 85 protesterssuffocated after being arrested and piled up on top of each other in twomilitary trucks while being transported to a military camp in Pattani province./.