Three killed by Islamic militants in Thai south

By Manager Online

12 July 2006 18:32

PATTANI, Thailand (AFP) - Suspected Islamic militants have gunned down three people in the latest bloodshed in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, police said Wednesday.

Two people were shot dead Tuesday in Pattani, apparently because the militants believed they were government informants, police said.

They were originally from northeastern Thailand. Police said this may have raised the suspicions of militants because the two were not familiar with the area.

Neither of the victims was working for the government but were simply travelling gold-traders, police said.

Early Wednesday in nearby Narathiwat province, a Muslim who was active in local politics was killed outside a mosque, apparently because he maintained good relations with the government, police said.

The Muslim-majority region along the Malaysian border was an ethnic Malay sultanate until mainly Buddhist Thailand annexed it a century ago. Separatist unrest has simmered ever since, with more than 1,300 killed since early 2004.

Thai Day

One killed in suspected Narathiwat insurgent shooting

NARATHIWAT, July 12 (TNA) - Another casualty was reported in Thailand's southernmost border province of Narathiwat on Wednesday, as a rubber plantation owner was killed by a suspected insurgent in a drive-by shooting.

Rubber plantation owner Jeh-uma Yuso, 52, was found dead at the roadside in Tambon Bango-sato Wednesday morning.

According to police, Mr. Jeh-uma was shot dead in his car by an unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle while he was driving a local government official to his home.

Bango-sato subdistrict assistant head Abdulrahmae Muso, 50, the passenger, was apparently unhurt in the shooting, which was believed related to the southern insurgency.

In Ruso district, a combined force of police, military, and civilian personnel raided several target houses in Samakkhee subdistrit and apprehended 25-year-old Ayu Barowee after finding 20 wooden dummy guns in his possession.

Local authorities took Mr. Ayu to Ruso police station before remanding him to the Fourth Army Area Command in nearby Yala province for further questioning.

According to the authorities, the suspect is one of the 10 arms experts of the insurgent group, and he is believed to give arms training to members of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) insurgent group in Ruso district.

TNA