One killed, 18 injured in Yala car-bomb attack on Sunday

Suspected insurgents detonated a homemade bomb hidden in a vehicle parked outside a police apartment building in Yala’s Bannang Sata district, killing a woman and injuring 18 people.

The explosion occurred at 10.30am on the roadside in front of the residential building of Bannang Sata police station in Tambon Bannang Sata of Bannang Sata district.

Police, paratroopers and district officials went to the scene immediately after the blast and found a woman’s body burned beyond recognition.

The vehicle was reduced to a metal heap, making it hard for officials to identify the type and owner for now. The blast’s impact also shattered doors’ and windows’ glass of the apartment units of the building.

Police said the slain victim could not yet be identified, while the injured victims were 10 villagers and eight police officers. The injured were only slightly hurt and were sent to the district hospital for treatment.

Officials cordoned off the scene and bomb-disposal police were sent in first to check for possible booby traps for fear that the insurgents would detonate a second bomb to ambush the officials. But no more bombs were found at the scene.