Thailand arrests 3 Muslims for southern bombs

The Straits Times, February 20, 2007


PATTANI (Thailand) - Thai security forces have arrested three Muslim men in connection with a series of bombs and shootings that killed eight people across the Muslim far south at the weekend, the region's military chief said on Tuesday.

All three had confessed and been charged, Southern Army commander Lieutenant-General Viroach Buacharoon told a news conference.

He added that the men, who were in their 20s and 30s, had had 'intensive military training' from a militant group called RKK.

References to Runda Kumpalan Kecil - which means 'Small Patrol Group' in Malay - first surfaced in a Bangkok Post report in January 2006.

The report described RKK as one of several militant groups operating in the provinces near the Malaysian border.

The paper said the group used the home of an Islamic teacher, Mr Amran Masor, in Thailand's Pattani province as a training base.

Dozens of bombs exploded across the region on Sunday evening, killing eight people and wounding 50 in attacks that coincided with the start of Lunar New Year celebrations. -- REUTERS