Residents of Narathiwat province have been warned that a missing old-model Honda sedan could have been stolen by insurgents for use as a car bomb.
The provincial public relations office on Tuesday asked people to be on the look out for the blue Honda Civic as separatists could fit it out with explosives.
The model of the suspect car is the "iron version", so-called because its bonnet looks like an iron used to press clothes. This model of the Civic was manufactured from 1992 to 1995.
"Anybody spotting the car please call 1341," the announcement said.
The southernmost region has seen escalating violence, including car bombs, since the start of the Muslim fasting period of Ramadan early this month. (continues below)
An example of the missing blue Honda Civic sedan, suspected of having been stolen by separatist insurgents for use as a car bomb. (Photo: Narathiwat Public Relations Office Facebook account)
The latest case involving a car bomb occurred on Monday. Timed explosives attached to a Suzuki Swift driven by defence volunteer Suyanee Seeba detonated on Road 4060 as she going to work at Kapho district office in Pattani. She survived, but has serious injuries.
Three other people, one a 6-year-old girl, were injured by shrapnel.
Security authorities believed insurgents had intended the bomb to go off after she parked the car at the district office, not before.
On March 8, multiple bombs were detonated at the district office and other places in Sungai Kolok district in Narathiwat province.