Muslim killed and two injured in restive Thai south

Suspected Muslim separatists shot dead a Muslim defence volunteer in a roadside ambush in Thailand's southern Pattani province on Saturday as he rode a motorcycle home, police said.

In two other attacks in nearby Narathiwat province, roadside bombs wounded a Muslim villager riding a motorcycle and a Muslim defence volunteer walking alongside troops with whom he was working, police said. None of the soldiers was hurt.

On Wednesday, in the bloodiest incident in months, suspected separatists killed four soldiers and wounded five others in an attack on a small military base in Rangae, Narathiwat province. According to media reports, the attackers made off with weapons.

The violence, believed to be the work of ethnic Malay separatists rebelling against a century of rule by predominantly Buddhist Thailand, has claimed more than 4,300 lives since a decades-old insurgency restarted in January 2004.

The government says strict security measures, enforced by more than 40,000 troops, have led to a drop in violence over the past year and it is considering lifting emergency measures gradually.

The rubber-rich region is just a few hours away from some of Thailand's main tourist areas, although the attacks have so far been limited to four provinces that border Malaysia.

The violence typically involves drive-by shootings, ambushes and roadside blasts, although car bombings and beheadings have also taken place in recent years. Apart from the security forces, teachers and others working with the state have been targeted.

No credible group has claimed responsibility.

Source - Yahoo.