Pattani: Police are collecting additional evidence following an attack by five armed assailants who stormed a popular shopping mall in Pattani and detonated bombs at three locations. Some evidence was already collected last night.
According to Thai News Agency, yesterday at approximately 7:00 PM, five masked assailants, fully armed with rifles and handguns, stormed into the Global House shopping mall in Pattani, located at Moo 4, Bana Subdistrict, Mueang District, Pattani Province. They threatened and ordered employees and customers to leave the mall, causing panic among the public. The assailants then planted three bombs inside the mall before fleeing.
Following the incident, police from Pattani City Police Station, along with soldiers and local administrative officials, mobilized forces to investigate and immediately cordoned off the surrounding area to prevent unauthorized persons from approaching the scene, due to concerns about remaining explosive devices or a possible repeat incident. Initial investigations revealed that five masked, armed assailants on two motorcycles and one sidecar entered the mall. Two of the assailants detained security guards at the entrance while the other two entered the mall, ordering employees and customers to leave before planting three explosive devices inside the mall.
In addition, another suspect drove a sidecar loaded with explosives to the loading area in the middle of the mall. Before fleeing, the suspects told the security guard that if they didn't want any fatalities, they should quickly inform everyone to evacuate the mall. All the suspects then fled on motorcycles.
During an inspection of the sidecar, a signal box was found along with five cardboard boxes. A robot was used to cut the explosive device's circuit box before the sidecar was moved to an open area. Upon inspection, it was found to contain a timed improvised explosive device (IED) containing a 15 kg gas cylinder and 7 gallons of fuel. Fortunately, the bomb did not detonate, presumably because the circuit may have been damaged during transport. If it had exploded, it would have had a devastating effect.
Latest reports indicate that this morning at Global House in Pattani province, police are still cordoning off the area where the incident occurred, awaiting forensic investigators to collect further evidence. Some evidence was collected last night, but due to the darkness, not all may have been gathered. The store has not yet cleaned up or prepared the area.
Regarding the progress of the case, officials are still tracing CCTV footage along the routes the perpetrators used during the crime and their escape. They are also analyzing CCTV footage captured at the guard post to examine the suspects' behavior and modus operandi to determine if it resembles that of perpetrators in previous crimes.