10-25-2006, 02:19 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=6&art_id=29963&sid=10500556&con_type=1&d_str=20061023
<b>Buddhist monks targeted in deadly Thai bomb blast</b>
Monday, October 23, 2006
A bomb in Muslim-dominated southern Thailand ripped into a column of Buddhist monks as they went on their alms- receiving walk Sunday, killing a marine guard and injuring a dozen other people.
The attack came a day after Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said he would use Indonesia's peace process with separatist rebels in Aceh province as an example in trying to solve the Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand. More than 1,700 people have died in the south since early 2004.
<b>Police Lieutenant Narong Buakong said a mobile telephone-triggered bomb went off outside an electronics shop in the city of Narathiwat as the monks were passing by to collect food offerings</b>.
<b>The bomb killed one marine and injured four other marines who were escorting the monks, five of whom were also injured,</b> he said. Three civilians standing nearby were also wounded.
Buddhist monks are among targets of the Islamic insurgents, who are seeking to carve out a separate homeland in the three provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat which border Malaysia.
<b>Since several monks were beheaded in early 2004, soldiers have provided escorts for them during their daily alms- receiving walks.</b>
The attack was the latest in a bloody week, which included several shootings and a bomb attack Friday at a tea shop in Songkhla that killed four people and wounded 10 others.
Thailand's military-backed government, which came into power after a September 19 coup, has said it will try to negotiate with the rebels rather than continue the iron-fisted policies of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Surayud, in talks with Indonesian leaders Saturday, said he would study the peace process in Aceh. ASSOCIATED PRESS<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Buddhist monks targeted in deadly Thai bomb blast</b>
Monday, October 23, 2006
A bomb in Muslim-dominated southern Thailand ripped into a column of Buddhist monks as they went on their alms- receiving walk Sunday, killing a marine guard and injuring a dozen other people.
The attack came a day after Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said he would use Indonesia's peace process with separatist rebels in Aceh province as an example in trying to solve the Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand. More than 1,700 people have died in the south since early 2004.
<b>Police Lieutenant Narong Buakong said a mobile telephone-triggered bomb went off outside an electronics shop in the city of Narathiwat as the monks were passing by to collect food offerings</b>.
<b>The bomb killed one marine and injured four other marines who were escorting the monks, five of whom were also injured,</b> he said. Three civilians standing nearby were also wounded.
Buddhist monks are among targets of the Islamic insurgents, who are seeking to carve out a separate homeland in the three provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat which border Malaysia.
<b>Since several monks were beheaded in early 2004, soldiers have provided escorts for them during their daily alms- receiving walks.</b>
The attack was the latest in a bloody week, which included several shootings and a bomb attack Friday at a tea shop in Songkhla that killed four people and wounded 10 others.
Thailand's military-backed government, which came into power after a September 19 coup, has said it will try to negotiate with the rebels rather than continue the iron-fisted policies of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Surayud, in talks with Indonesian leaders Saturday, said he would study the peace process in Aceh. ASSOCIATED PRESS<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->