Thailand: Professional Criminals and Amateur Terrorists

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October 20, 2005: Islamic terrorism against local Moslems in the south continues. A man with an AK-47 fired on a Moslem Paluru village official, but killed the mans 28 year old wife instead. Meanwhile, three bombs were planted, although only one went off (causing no injuries.) Islamic terrorists were believed behind these bombings. The ineptitude of these bombing attacks is believed to come from the fact that the terrorists are getting most of their training via the Internet. Local criminal gangs, who have been around for a long time, and are more powerful than the terrorist gangs, are believed to be tolerating, or even encouraging the Islamic terrorists, as a way to weaken police control in the area. Then again, maybe not, because the Islamic terrorism has brought a lot more cops into the area.

October 19, 2005: Police caught three men trying to smuggle three assault rifles, and ammunition, to the Moslem south. It's not known if the weapons were intended for terrorist, or criminal, activities. Both are common in the south.

October 18, 2005: The State of Emergency (sort of martial law) for the southern three Moslem provinces was extended for three months.

October 16, 2005: Some twenty gunmen attacked a Buddhist temple in the south, killing a monk and two teenagers. The attackers then desecrated the temple. In other attacks in the area, two policemen and six civilians died from what appears to be Islamic violence.

October 15, 2005: There has been an upsurge of violence in Paluru village, with three Buddhists and a Moslem defense official killed. There's apparently an organized effort to terrorize local Moslems to stop supporting the government, and to drive non-Moslems out.

October 14, 2005: Malaysia has moved more troops to the Thai border, to help keep Thai refugees out. In two years of Moslem violence in Thailand, Malaysia has turned back over 6,000 Thai Moslems trying to flee the violence. Several thousand appear to have evaded Malaysian border police. Smugglers have long worked this border, and, for a fee, can move people, as well as weapons, fuel, drugs, and other goods across the border.

 

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