PATTANI, Thailand – Muslim insurgents struck again in the southern border province of Pattani late Sunday night, bombing and burning a municipal office, just hours after a wave of coordinated attacks across the three southernmost provinces left two women injured and widespread damage to government property. The latest attack occurred at approximately 9:10 p.m. on Sunday at the Pho Ming municipal office in tambon Pho Ming of Panare district, where the security guard’s booth was bombed and the office garage set ablaze, seriously damaging a garbage truck, a rescue pickup truck, and a fire engine, with no casualties reported.

Coordinated multiple attacks rock Thailand’s southern border provinces

The incident followed approximately 50 coordinated bomb and arson attacks across Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala on Saturday night, which involved explosions, gunfire, arson, and damage to property and infrastructure. The attacks prompted the military to impose a curfew from 10:15 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Sunday, with authorities urging residents to avoid targeted areas and refrain from sharing information about security forces’ positions on social media.

In Bangkok, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow acknowledged that officials had yet to determine the motive behind the upsurge in violence, expressing concern about the frequency of the attacks and admitting there had been advance intelligence pointing to planned coordinated violence that security authorities should have prepared for more quickly. Thanut Suvarnananda, director of the National Intelligence Agency, suggested that attackers might be trying to increase their negotiating power ahead of peace restoration talks likely to resume in late October, and that the attacks could also be symbolic, given the targeting of government offices and property, as well as an effort to use up ammunition and explosives stored to prevent deterioration during the wet season.

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Thanut also noted that the government’s recent seizure of large quantities of drugs in the region might have provoked the attacks, and confirmed that intelligence officials know who is behind the violence but cannot reveal their names . The attacks have heightened security concerns across the southern border provinces, with authorities stepping up surveillance and patrols while working to reassure residents and ensure their safety.