Thai authorities say the jihadists killed them and tried to blame it on those Thai authorities. Muslim villagers in the area of the attack do not believe this. But given that the jihadists believe that “war is deceit,” as Muhammad said, the possibility that they committed these murders in order to stir up the people against the Thai authorities cannot be dismissed out of hand.
“3 children killed in Thai school attack,” from AP, with thanks to Cindy:
BANGKOK, Thailand – A deadly attack on an Islamic school in Thailand’s restive south that left three students dead and seven injured sparked hundreds of Muslim villagers to rioted Sunday in protest.
Police blamed the attack in the southern province of Songkhla on Muslim insurgents, but villagers said they didn’t believe Muslims were behind the violence.
More than 500 protesters gathered outside the school, parading the dead children’s bodies through the crowd and setting fire to two buildings at a nearby government-owned school. Some hurled stones at police.
The attack occurred late Saturday evening at the Bamrungsart Pondok school, a Muslim boarding school in Songkhla province, said police Col. Thammasak Wasaksiri.
Attackers hurled explosives onto the school grounds and opened fire with assault rifles into the sleeping quarters of the school, Thammasak said.
He said police believe Muslim insurgents staged the attack and hoped to convince local residents that authorities were behind it “” a ploy to win villagers over to the insurgents’ cause.
But the protesting villagers said Sunday morning they didn’t believe that Muslims had staged the attack.
“The villagers are accusing paratroopers of attacking the school,” Thammasak said.
Thailand’s three Muslim provinces have hundreds of religious Islamic schools, some of which authorities have accused of harboring insurgents and serving as a training ground for violence.