The Thailand Jihad

Photographic Evidence





One of the least known and least publicized current wars involving Islamic extremists is the ongoing jihad in southern Thailand. Muslim separatists in the southernmost portion of the country have been committing a seemingly unending series of terror attacks on Thai Buddhists, on other Muslims (apparently as punishment for not supporting the violence) and on the Thai police and military. This has been going on at least since 2004, and most likely much longer (though unseen by the outside world). The goal of the terrorists is to create a Muslim-controlled independent state ruled by Islamic law.

The few reports of the Thai jihad that reach the western press are almost invariably purely textual descriptions of the violence; only rarely are photos to be found in media reports, and almost none of those photos show what's really going on: beheadings, corpse desecrations, torture, bombings, and more.

An anonymous correspondent (based in Malaysia) recently sent to zombietime a series of extremely explicit photographs depicting some of the violence being committed by Islamic terrorists in southern Thailand. Extensive online searches through various news archives failed to turn up the precise origins of these photos, nor of any photos even vaguely similar. Because of this, the images are newsworthy, and I decided to make these photographs available online as a sort of "evidence archive" of what has been happening in southern Thailand recently.

You will find the photographs below (along with captions). Some of the pictures have timestamps from 2006 on them, but the others are from unknown dates.



WARNING: The images below are EXTREMELY graphic and are not for the faint of heart, young children, or anyone offended by violent images. If you feel you are not prepared to view totally UNCENSORED, EXPLICIT, AND UPSETTING images of violence and death, DO NOT continue viewing this page. You have been warned.

The pictures can be found by scrolling down this page, after a count of three:









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A Thai Buddhist motorcyclist who has been killed and beheaded.


The sign on his motorcycle says, in Thai script, "If Thais continue to capture/kill Malaysian (Muslims) in Thailand, we'll continue to kill Buddhists."

(Translation confirmed by a fluent Thai speaker who wishes to remain anonymous.)


The head of the motorcyclist, lying nearby. The lower jaw has been severed as well.


A victim of an Islamic terror attack. He appears to have died in an explosion or fire, though his body may have been scorched after he was already dead.


His attackers tried (unsuccessfully) to hack off his head.


His body was severely burned. The document underneath is part of some police paperwork; the visible portion reads, "...before getting permission," along with some identification numbers.


A member of the Thai military who has been killed and whose body was severely disfigured.


The Thai military and the Thai police recovering the body.


The body being carried away.


Victims on a railroad bridge; one body has been draped over a girder; the other has been placed on the tracks and cut in half by the wheels of a passing train.


The same victim, shown from the other side.


Rescue workers recovering the partial corpse.


A severely burned body, in a photo possibly dated 2003. Although this was included with the other photos of terror victims, there is no way to determine exactly what happened to this particular victim.


The Thai military inspecting a Buddhist monk, somewhere in the Muslim-majority area of southern Thailand.



UPDATE:


According to this news site, the image above is of a threatening letter sent to a Buddhist teacher in southern Thailand. The translation (at the bottom of the linked page) reads:
Kru Bow Kru Koy Kru Kai [the name of the teacher], the Thai Buddhist get out. Don't work here. Not guarantee for safety. Go to teach at Krongpinang at Nibongchanoopatum. We know and can follow where you are, what you teach, and how you go. We, Pattani state, do not want Thai Buddhists teachers. This is the first warning. You are also the Thai Buddhist [Kafir Siam]. We are Allah people and don't get involved with them. Get out. Allah protects people who believe in Allah only.

More photos and information about the Thai insurgency can be found here, here and here.

UPDATE 2:

A reader claims that the following two photos (which they submitted) are Reuters news photos of jihad attacks in Thailand sometime in the last year or two:








If you know more about the incidents depicted in any of these photos, or have additional material, submit it here.





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