PATTANI, Thailand – A Thai police officer survived an ambush by gunmen disguised in traditional Muslim women’s clothing, but his schoolteacher wife was killed while holding their 40-day-old infant in Thailand’s southern province of Pattani. The attack occurred when four suspects riding motorcycles used assault rifles and handguns to open fire on a vehicle driven by Police Senior Sergeant Major Adul Haneesulong near a local school. Adul was heading to pick up his children when the ambush took place.
Despite sustaining gunshot wounds to his legs, Adul managed to drive the vehicle 300 meters into the school grounds to seek help. His wife, Fatimah, who was sitting in the back seat holding their infant, died at the scene. The 40-day-old baby suffered minor injuries from bullet fragments. Both the officer and the infant are currently in stable condition at a local hospital. “I still cannot accept what happened. It is a devastating loss,” Adul said, adding that he believes the attackers had monitored his routine. “But I must move forward for my children and do my best as a father.”
An Islamic funeral ceremony for Fatimah was held at her family home, drawing a large crowd of relatives and local residents before her burial at a local cemetery. Classes resumed as normal at the Prasan Witthaya Mulnithi School, where Fatimah was employed as a teacher. Security personnel have been deployed to monitor the area. Teachers, students, and religious leaders planned to gather for prayers and hold a demonstration to condemn the attack and call for an end to violence against civilians. Major General Santhat Chuephuttan, chief of Pattani Provincial Police, has ordered investigators to expedite the search for the perpetrators and gather DNA evidence from the scene. Security agencies believe the attack was carried out by local insurgent groups targeting government officials. (TNA)
