Oprettet af yindee d. 13-03-2010 07:46
District police chief killed in ambush
Yala- A senior policeman, known for his honesty and expertise in anti-insurgency warfare, died from wounds sustained in a bomb attack and ensuing gunfire yesterday that also wounded three other officers.
Pol Colonel Somphian Eksomya, 59, who would have retired in October, was well liked by his colleagues and residents in the deep South, where he served most of his 20-year career in the police force. He had originally started off as a police constable.
Somphian, who was police chief for Yala province's Bannang Sata district, was heading off on a mission to meet locals at an insurgent-infested area when his pickup was ambushed on a remote road at 1.30pm yesterday.
He and the other three occupants of the truck were first hit by a roadside bomb, which was followed by gunfire.
The police chief was pronounced dead at 3.40pm at a local hospital, while the other three were in intensive care.
The Songkhla native, who had survived a previous bomb attack and several gunfights, said recently that his request to be transferred out of the strife-torn southern provinces had been rejected.
The tough officer was affectionately dubbed the "Iron-legged Sergeant Phian" for his stamina on foot patrol, and also the "fighter on the Budo mountain range" for his courage and efficiency in leading previous anti-insurgency missions.
http://www.nation...l[/center]