What’s missing from this headline?
That would be the description of the “violence.”
It was 29 bombings in 45 minutes that murdered 8 and wounded more than 70 people in Southern Thailand, where the Islamist jihad has killed thousands in the last three years.
Three men who said they boosted their courage with narcotics and cough syrup were arrested and confessed to involvement in deadly bombings and other attacks in southern Thailand blamed on Muslim insurgents, an army officer said Tuesday.
The three were arrested Sunday shortly after the attacks that killed eight people and wounded nearly 70 in a 24-hour period beginning Sunday night, said Lt. Gen. Viroj Buajaroon, the regional commander for the south.
Sunday’s attacks took place simultaneously in all four southern provinces Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and Songkhla where the militants operate. About 2,000 people have been killed in the area in the separatist insurgency that flared up in January 2004.
Despite the arrests and increased security, suspected insurgents carried out more attacks Tuesday, including at least two bombings. No casualties were reported.
Viroj said it is still unclear which group carried out Sunday’s attacks which included 29 bombings within 45 minutes but the three arrested suspects had linked the violence to an Islamic militant group and given information about others involved.
Uh-huh. Let’s not be coy. It was the Religion of Peace that did it. And the media tries to downplay the Islamist war at every turn.
The headline sucks, but as a whole the article puts too much emphasis on the religion. The article notes that the insurgents are fighting to create an Islamic state, but the word “Malay” doesn’t appear in the article at all. A casual reader would have no idea that most people in southern Thailand are ethnic Malays who speak a distinct language.