Deadly Ambush in Narathiwat: 2 Defense Volunteers Killed, 16 Injured in Insurgent Attack

NARATHIWAT — Two Volunteer Defense Corps members were killed and 16 others injured after suspected insurgents targeted a military-style truck with a powerful roadside bomb before opening fire in Narathiwat’s Sukhirin district.

The incident occurred at approximately 3:10 p.m. as a group of 18 territorial defense volunteers was returning to their base aboard a six-wheeled truck. The personnel were traveling back from participating in a traditional boat-racing event held in Mueang Narathiwat district.

As the vehicle reached Rom Sai subdistrict, an improvised explosive device (IED) concealed beneath the road surface was detonated. Investigators revealed that the blast, caused by an estimated 50-kilogram bomb packed into a cooking gas cylinder, created a massive crater and caused the vehicle to flip and roll across the road.

Immediately following the explosion, an unknown number of assailants concealed in dense roadside vegetation opened fire on the trapped personnel using assault rifles. The surviving volunteers engaged in a heavy firefight with the attackers before the insurgents retreated into the surrounding terrain.

The two deceased personnel were identified as IrinKaewrawang and NattanatKaewsupo. Emergency responders transported all 16 wounded volunteers—several with critical injuries—to Sukhirin Hospital for treatment.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a forensic investigation alongside joint military-police search operations to track down the perpetrators. Authorities suspect the attack was carried out in retaliation for a recent security operation in the nearby Tawae mountain range that resulted in the deaths of two suspected insurgent bomb-makers.

Following the assault, provincial authorities ordered a immediate tightening of security measures across all major transit corridors in Narathiwat, establishing additional checkpoints and deploying mobile patrol units along remote rural roads. Regional commanders also directed security units to step up intelligence sharing with local administrative networks in an effort to preempt further retaliatory strikes across the southern border provinces.