The headline to this AP story is “Unidentified assailants burn 18 schools, kill 4 soldiers in Thailand.”
It also notes that “Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh told reporters that the attacks in Narathiwat province, which borders Malaysia, were not linked to international terrorism.”
However, “Narathiwat is one of four Muslim-majority provinces in Thailand, which is predominantly Buddhist. A former hotbed of an Islamic separatist insurgency, the south has seen an upsurge of attacks on government-linked targets in recent years that has left more than 50 soldiers and policemen dead.”
Also: “Government officials have described the perpetrators variously as Muslim separatists, bandits and criminals.”
The “unidentified assailants set fire to 18 schools and stormed a military armory, killing four soldiers, in almost simultaneous raids in southern Thailand on Sunday, an official said.”
Also, “military spokesman Lt. Gen. Phalangun Krahan said the raiders broke into the armory and took 103 assault rifles. However, the state-run Thai News Agency quoted unidentified sources as saying the attackers fled with 300 assault rifles, 40 pistols and two M-60 machine guns. Army spokesman Col. Somkhuan Saengpatranet said he cannot confirm the report. ‘As this moment we are still checking and do not know the exact number. But initial reports said more than one hundred weapons were stolen,’ Somkhuan told The Associated Press.”
Hmmm. A group described as “Muslim separatists” from a Muslim area conduct simultaneous raids — and not for the first time — during which they steal weapons. But of course, this has nothing to do with international terroroism.
(Thanks to Nicolei.)