Five Thai policemen were injured in a bomb explosion in Thepha District, Songkhla, yesterday.

Thepha CID Police Chief Bancha Phadthaisong said the five policemen were patrolling in a pick-up truck on the Thepha-Lamplai Road when the incident took place at 3.45pm (local time).

He said an improvised explosive device (IED) weighing 25kg was believed to have been installed in a gas cylinder and detonated.

‘’All the policemen in the pick-up truck were hurt and rushed to the Thepha Hospital. The motive for the attack is believed to be revenge for the detention of militant members last month,’’ he told reporters.

Bancha said all the five policemen were reported to be in stable conditions.

The Thai authorities were striving to hunt down the suspects responsible for setting off the explosion, he added.

On Nov 5, motorcycle-riding gunmen and others on foot opened fire on two checkpoints in Maung, a district of Yala, killing 15 civilians, defence volunteers and police officers.

Authorities had issued warrants for the arrests of three men, all suspected insurgents, wanted in the Nov 5 killings.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha later authorised security forces to impose curfews in nine districts of the Deep South after the attacks in Yala.

The Deep South borders Malaysia and encompasses the predominantly Muslim and Malay-speaking provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, as well as four districts in neighbouring Songkhla. 

Almost 7,000 people have been killed in the region since insurgents renewed their campaign against Buddhist-majority Thailand 15 years ago. — Bernama