Witnesses said an attacker drove a truck loaded with a bomb and left it near the local operation base of the special force. The man was then whisked away on a motorcycle driven past the spot by his accomplices just a few minutes before the bomb blew up.

Initial investigation has revealed that the attackers might be connected to a similar bombing in Samui in Surat Thani which killed seven people last year.

On the same day, search teams of the Thai army have expanded searching area for the UH-1 helicopter which went missing with three officers on board on June 25 in the country’s east mountainous area.

The UH-1 helicopter transported telecommunications equipment and food supplies to a radar base in Khao Chamao in Chanthaburi province.