Bannang Sata: Assailants ambushed and injured one ranger in a rubber plantation in Bannang Sata. It is believed that the attack was intended to create a situation.

According to Thai News Agency, on 13 November 2014 at approximately 15:00, Pol. Lt. Col. Worawit Na Nakhon, an investigator at Bannang Sata Police Station, Yala Province, received a report from the Bannang Sata District Radio Communications Center. An unknown group of assailants had ambushed and shot a ranger from the 4110th Ranger Company, who was supported by the 4108th Ranger Company. The incident occurred in a rubber plantation behind Ban Bajo School, Village No. 1, Ban Uba, Tambon Bajo, Amphoe Bannang Sata, Yala Province.

Following the incident, Col. Phongsakon Saengkun, Commander of the 41st Ranger Regiment Task Force, led police officers, rangers, and local government officials to the scene and transported the injured ranger to Yala Hospital. Lt. Col. Yutthanam Phetmuang, Deputy Commander of the Yala Task Force, closely monitored the range
r’s condition to ensure prompt medical attention.

Initial inquiries revealed that the rangers, totaling 14 men, were on duty as per their tactical plan when they were ambushed by an unknown group using M-16 rifles. The attack resulted in bullets striking the vests and grazing the shoulders of two rangers, though they were not injured. However, Sergeant Major Uthen Metha, 42, the leader of the 4110th Ranger Company, sustained a gunshot wound to the left shoulder. The rangers refrained from returning fire due to the proximity of houses and a school, concerned for the safety of villagers and students.

Officers examining the scene discovered over 20 M-16 shell casings. A tactical team was dispatched to pursue the assailants, but the perpetrators used their local knowledge to evade capture swiftly. Initial suspicions suggest that this act of violence was intended to destabilize the area, carried out by insurgents active in Bannang Sata District and surrounding regions.