Militants struck Thailand's southern border province of Yala yet again Saturday early morning, heralding the New Year with a wave of arson attacks and shooting which left eight officials wounded, reported the Thai News Agency on January 1, 2005.

The violence took place shortly after midnight, when suspected insurgents set fire to two telephone booths in Raman district.

Just minutes later, police officers were alerted to an arson attack on Baan Koto Duera School in the same district.

Twenty minutes later, and the arsonists had struck again, this time burning the garage of a local resident.

Another three telephone boxes were set ablaze shortly afterwards.

Police said that all the attacks had almost certainly been carried out by a single group of people.

In Krong Pinang district, police investigated the site of an explosion, where they found the remnants of a home-made nail bomb, which appeared to have been denoted using a mobile telephone.

As the police officers were preparing to defuse what later turned out to be a fake device, a real explosive placed nearby went off, injuring a number of bomb disposal officers.

Sunday night, heavily armed militants also shot Mr. Aphisit Kueji, a former military officer, at his home in Banangsata district, while eight bomb disposal officers were injured while trying to defuse a bomb placed near a Krong Pinang market, the agency said.

Source: Xinhua