Paramilitary Ranger Ambushed and Killed in Narathiwat
A paramilitary ranger was ambushed and killed by insurgents in Narathiwat's Su-ngai Padi district while returning home on leave. His wife witnessed the attack, dodging gunfire as she tried to reach him, and saw the gunmen shoot him repeatedly at close range before fleeing. Authorities believe the same group may be responsible for an earlier shooting of a former village headman and are investigating links between the two incidents.
The wife of a Narathiwat paramilitary ranger has described the terrifying moments she dodged bullets to reach her husband after gunmen ambushed his vehicle in Su-ngai Padi district, before watching helplessly as the attackers executed him at close range.
On November 5, 2026, Police Lieutenant Colonel Tarameesee Jehdee, superintendent of Su-ngai Padi Police Station, along with Lieutenant Colonel Kittisak Onchu, deputy inspector for investigation, and EOD officers from the Narathiwat Provincial Police and Border Patrol Police, inspected the scene where insurgents used military-grade weapons to kill Ranger Attaphon Yaowadam, attached to the 4810th Ranger Company, 48th Ranger Regiment. His body was found beside a brown Isuzu pickup with Phatthalung plates on the roadside at Moo 6, Ban Kampong Buena, Ri Koe subdistrict, about 60 meters from his wife's quarters. The vehicle was riddled with bullet holes, with a pool of blood, a pair of sandals, and more than 20 spent M16 and AK-47 casings scattered on the ground.
Investigation revealed that before the attack, Ranger Attaphon had been providing security at Darul Islam Mosque, where former village headman Doroning Mulee was wounded in a shooting. After completing his duty, he took leave to return to his wife's quarters. Around dusk, as he walked to park his truck, two gunmen lying in wait in the scrub and behind a large tree on the right side opened fire with M16 and AK-47 rifles, causing him to collapse with severe injuries. His wife ran out to help but was shot at, a bullet grazing her head; she fled into the adjacent forest as the gunmen continued firing. Two pickup trucks then arrived to extract the attackers, who fled the scene. The body was taken to Su-ngai Padi Hospital, where examination found a through-and-through gunshot wound to the back, fractures of the right leg and left arm, and a severe neck wound.
The same day, Major General Panjapol Thappabun, commander of the 48th Ranger Regiment, presided over the bathing and burial rites for Ranger Attaphon at the Ban Kampong Buena cemetery in Ri Koe, Su-ngai Padi, Narathiwat, presenting financial aid and merit-making supplies amid deep sorrow.
Security sources believe the gunmen may be the same group that used a 9mm pistol to wound former village headman Doroning Mulee in Ban Na Thongkham during the early hours of November 3. They suspect the attackers fled into the mountains behind the village after that shooting before returning to carry out the ranger's killing. Officials are currently gathering evidence to establish links between the two incidents.
Ranger Attaphon's wife recounted the moment: after hearing the first shots, she opened the door and saw muzzle flashes, so she put on her sandals and ran out screaming at the gunmen to stop. But seeing her in a white pajama set, they immediately turned their weapons on her. A bullet grazed past her and she managed to dive into the forest, from where she watched the gunmen fire repeatedly at her husband until he fell, his head striking the ground hard. After the attackers fled, she rushed to her husband and found he was still barely breathing. She tried to check his eyes and vital signs, but realized he had already died. She said she was overwhelmed with shock and grief, never imagining such a swift and brutal event could happen.
Read more: Ranger ambushed and killed while on leave returning home; authorities hunt gunmen for prosecution.
