Thailand: Suspect insurgents killed in gunfight
The gunmen, believed to be separatist rebels, opened fire on troops and paramilitary rangers early in the morning in the mountains of Yala province, leading to a shootout that left two of the militants dead. The rest of the group fled and three M-16 assault rifles were retrieved.
The attacks were the latest in a recent intensification of violence in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces bordering Malaysia, where ethnic Malay separatists are waging a bloody rebellion against the Thai state.
The violence has killed 4,500 people since the conflict resurfaced in early 2004.