JANUARY 18, 2007
Posted January 19, 2007
Narong Nuansakul, Thai TV Channel 3
Santhiti Koejitmet, Nation Channel
ATTACKED
Television reporters Nuansakul and Koejitmet were injured when a small roadside bomb exploded while they were on an early morning reporting assignment in southern Thailand’s Narathiwat province.
The two were covering news related to an apparent arson attack staged the previous evening on a nursery school in Narathiwat’s Bajoe district. News reports quoted local police officials who blamed the attack on Muslim insurgent groups active in the area.
The attack appears to be the first time either foreign or local news reporters have been directly targeted by insurgents over the course of the three-year-old conflict.
Since January 2004 there have been more than 1,900 deaths in the area, most apparently carried out by Thai Muslim groups. Attacks have usually been aimed at state targets, including government buildings, public schools and security outposts.