16 die in attack on Marine base

Scores of heavily armed gunmen stormed a military base in the South, an army spokesman said Wednesday, in a major assault that left at least 16 militants dead.

The body of a militant wearing a bulletproof vest lies at the edge of the Marine base.

"Some 100 fully armed militants stormed the base, where there were 60 marines," said Col Pramote Promin, southern army spokesman.
He said the attack, one of the most ambitious in several years of violence in Thailand's deep south, had resulted in the deaths of at least 16 assailants, with no Marine casualties.
The attack came early in the morning at the base at Bacho district of Narathiwat.
A 24-hour curfew was declared in the immediate region after the attack, until 6am Thursday. Fourth Army commander Udomchai Thammasarotrat said it covers four tambons in Narathiwat and two tambons in Pattani, all within five kilometres of the base.
There was confusion over the number of attackers dead. An army spokesmen said 17 militants were killed, but the 4th Army chief said the number was 16 - with more bodies likely to be found in a sweep of the base perimeter.

"We learned of the attack in advance from defected militants," Col Pramote told Thai television.

"We were able to secure the camp. All of our forces are safe," he said.
He added that a key local leader of the fighters, who wore bullet-proof vests during the attack, had been killed in the clashes. Attackers reportedly were armed with AK-47 and M-16 assault rifles.
The Wednesday attack followed an ambush by car bomb which killed five soldiers on Sunday.
The bomb, which also wounded a sixth soldier and two rubber tappers working nearby, was detonated as the troops passed by in their patrol vehicle in a village in Yala

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