In Thailand, Southern Tensions Escalate

The Feb. 11 assault on a marine base in southern Thailand is the most ambitious attack since violence began to escalate in early 2004. Roughly 80 heavily armed gunmen stormed the base, located in Narathiwat province's Bacho district, but failed to kill any marines. The attack left 16 militants dead and a few marines wounded.

Violence in southern Thailand has claimed roughly 5,000 lives over the past nine years. During that time, attacks consisted primarily of shootings of soft targets, such as Buddhist monks, teachers, police officers and public servants. Sometimes militants employed improvised explosive devices and car bombs. While tactically unsuccessful, the Feb. 11 attack highlights a trend in recent months toward operations involving larger formations of militants. Organizing and arming 80 assailants requires heavy manpower and a higher level of coordination than that of previous attacks. The manpower, coordination and target indicate that the militants are now able to pursue harder targets and may have specifically targeted military assets to obtain more weapons.