A 55-year-old former ranger was ambushed and shot dead on the road bordering Yala and Narathiwat while traveling to visit his wife. Authorities are urgently tracing the suspects and have not ruled out motives linked to personal conflicts or the ongoing unrest.
On 23 May 2026, reports indicated that at around 9:00 p.m. on 22 May, the radio center of Jakwa Police Station in Raman district, Yala province, received a report from the village headman of Jakwa subdistrict about a fatal shooting incident on a road in Village No. 1, Jakwa subdistrict, Raman district, Yala. This area borders Ban Taya, Suwaree subdistrict, Ru-soe district, Narathiwat province.
After receiving the report, Police Lieutenant Colonel Nipon Insuwan, chief inspector of Jakwa Police Station, led police officers, rangers, and local administration officials, coordinating with rescue units from the Jakwa Subdistrict Administrative Organization and the Ikwah Raman emergency rescue team to urgently investigate the crime scene.
At the scene, authorities found a black Honda Wave 125i motorcycle with Narathiwat license plates lying on the roadside. Nearby lay the deceased, identified as Ismae Masila, 55, a resident of Raman district, Yala, and a former ranger with the 47th Ranger Regiment. The body was face down, wearing a black jacket and a light purple sarong.
Preliminary autopsy revealed multiple gunshot wounds from an unidentified caliber handgun to the head and neck—five shots in total—causing immediate death at the scene. Forensic officers collected evidence and bullet casings from the area for further investigation.
Initial investigations found that before the attack, Ismae had ridden his motorcycle from his home in Jakwa subdistrict heading to visit his wife in Ban Taya, Suwaree subdistrict, Ru-soe district, Narathiwat. Upon reaching the isolated border area, unknown assailants on motorcycles closed in and fired several close-range handgun shots, causing his motorcycle to crash and resulting in his immediate death. The attackers then fled swiftly into the darkness, using their knowledge of the area.
Authorities and security agencies are currently collecting detailed evidence at the scene and plan to interview relatives and witnesses on 23 May 2026 to determine the exact motive behind the incident.
At present, investigators are considering both personal conflict and possible links to the ongoing unrest in the southern border provinces as motives, and they are working swiftly to apprehend the suspects for legal prosecution.