In the first attack, four soldiers were traveling in a personal car when a group of suspected insurgents opened fire on them on a road in Yala province

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Four soldiers were killed and eight wounded in two roadside attacks by suspected insurgents in Thailand’s violence-plagued south, police said on Thursday.

In the first attack on Wednesday evening, four soldiers were traveling in a personal car when a group of suspected insurgents opened fire on them on a road in Yala province, police colonel Lukman Bakoh said.

He said the attackers used rifles until the vehicle stopped, then they pulled the officers from the vehicle and fired at them repeatedly.

Lukman said the suspected militants stole three rifles and a pistol from the soldiers before fleeing the scene.

In another attack on Wednesday night, suspected insurgents detonated a car bomb as a truck carrying eight soldiers passed by on a road in Pattani province, injuring all of them, police lieutenant Somjai Poonpanang said.

He said the improvised bomb severely injured two of the eight officers, who were on patrol, and set the army truck on fire.

Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat are the only three Muslim-majority provinces in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

More than 5,000 people have been killed since an Islamic insurgency began in the region in 2004. The insurgents have not issued specific demands but are generally believed to be fighting for an independent Muslim state.