Compiled by C. ARUNO, RAHIMY RAHIM and R. ARAVINTHAN
A MOTHER of three was left shaken after hearing loud booms that shook a number of houses, including hers, following a series of bomb blasts and gunfire at Tak Bai, a Thai border town just next to Kelantan’s Pengkalan Kubor, reported Berita Harian.
“The sounds of gunshots and bomb blasts were so loud that it shook my house,” said villager Shikin Khorie, 26, at Kampung Tanjong, on Thursday.
“Some fragments from the explosion flew into my house,” said the resident whose house is only 50m away on the Malaysian side of Sungai Golok, which forms part of the Kelantan-Thai border.
Shikin was among the witnesses who saw a Thai Marine Police post by the river attacked by unknown assailants at around 10pm. The incident left three Thai policemen injured.
Several videos recorded by the public have gone viral on social media, showing raging fires in addition to several men firing guns.
The mother of three said that she was with her family members in the living room of her house.
“Initially, I thought the loud explosions were firecrackers. But when the sound grew louder, I went out to have a look. It was really scary as my house is just 50m from the location,” she said.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said Malaysia will seek more information on whether any of its citizens were affected in the blasts.
Border security has tightened since the attack.
> A seven-year-old autistic boy, who went missing in the jungle in Labuan, has been found safe and sound by local authorities, reported Harian Metro.
Muhammad Harraz Ziqri was found about 500m from his house near Simpang 7, Kampung Lajau.
Labuan senior search operation officer for the Fire and Rescue Department, Ardillah Supardi, said that the victim was found in the jungle near his house.
The victim did not sustain any serious injuries.
The search and rescue operation was jointly conducted by the local police, the Civil Defence Force, and the Fire and Rescue Department.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
