Roadside bomb kills 4 in southern Thailand

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

PATTANI, Thailand (AP) — A roadside bomb killed four paramilitary rangers on an intelligence-gathering operation in insurgency-plagued southern Thailand, the army spokesman said Thursday.

The rangers were returning to their base in a pickup truck when the bomb detonated in Pattani, one of three southern provinces that have faced an Islamic insurgency since early 2004, Col. Parinya Chaidilok said.

"The insurgents buried a fire extinguisher that contained explosives on the roadside," Parinya said. "We believe the rangers were targeted because they were gathering intelligence for the army."

(snip)

Thousands of government-hired paramilitary rangers have been deployed in the area. The military has recruited local Muslims and Buddhists to join the army-trained units, hoping their familiarity with the geography and people will give authorities an edge over insurgents.



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[bemildred]

1. Another low-level conflict, that has been going on for a long time.

I do have to wonder what "paramilitary rangers on an intelligence-gathering operation" means in terms of what they were doing, and to whom.