YALA: A military officer was seriously wounded in an ambush by an unknown number of armed men in front of a military outpost in Bannang Sata district of this southern Thai border province on Tuesday morning.
Lt Phuwiwat Khamsong, 41, of Nakhon Si Thammarat, was shot in the left side of the chest in front of the Jatae military outpost at Sanambin village Moo 1 in tambon Khuen Bang lang, said a police officer at the Bannang Sata police station who was alerted at 9.45am.
The military officer was badly wounded and rushed to Bannang Sata Hospital before being transferred to Yala Hospital, said police.
According to soldiers at the outpost, an unknown number of assailants fired shots during an ambush of security officers at the post. Some bullets struck Lt Phuwiwat.
The shooting follows a violent weekend in which three people were killed and at least a dozen injured in separate attacks involving bombs and gunfire in Narathiwat and Pattani provinces.
The attacks were unusual in that they occurred during Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month when insurgents in the area typically lie low. It was not clear exactly who was responsible for the violence.
The incidents prompted Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai to call for a reassessment of the peace negotiations in the deep South.
He said the attacks had raised questions about whether those involved in the talks had full authority to represent insurgent groups.