Southern army chief orders manhunt for Narathiwat car bomb attackers

Southern army chief orders intensified manhunt after Narathiwat car bomb injures four village defence volunteers; border and road security tightened.

Fourth Army Area commander Lt Gen Paisan Nusang on Thursday visited a road checkpoint in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district where Muslim insurgents carried out a car bomb attack on Wednesday night, and ordered an accelerated manhunt for the attackers.

On Wednesday night, four village defence volunteers were injured when a group of insurgents sent a black Toyota Yaris sedan to crash into the road checkpoint in Ban Khok Ma Fuang village, Tak Bai.

The car, packed with a home-made bomb, exploded before the defence volunteers at the checkpoint exchanged fire with the insurgents, forcing them to retreat.

Authorities believe the attackers fled via a side road near the Narathiwat Fishery Research and Development Centre.

Paisan visited the site on Thursday morning and ordered all army units in the province to coordinate with police and local agencies to block the insurgents’ escape.

He also instructed army units to step up patrols along the border with Malaysia to prevent the attackers from fleeing across the frontier.

In addition, Paisan directed security forces in the deep South to tighten security on main and secondary roads in the southern border provinces to guard against further attacks.

(2025/08/21-00:00)