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YALA, Thailand: Seven people have been killed in four separate shooting incidents in Thailand's troubled southern states, police said on Saturday.
In a drive-by shooting early Saturday, witnesses said at least five militants in a pick-up truck opened fire on a tea shop in Yala province's Raman district, killing four villagers and wounding four others.
Nearby, in the Bannang Sata district of Yala, a 56-year-old Thai Buddhist man was shot dead and beheaded before his body was set on fire on Friday, while his 28-year-old son was seriously wounded.
A 41-year-old Thai Muslim man was shot dead in his pick-up truck in a drive-by shooting in the same area shortly afterwards.
In the neighbouring province of Pattani, a 56-year-old retired teacher was shot dead on Friday evening in the Meung district after leaving a mosque.
More than 3,300 people have been killed since separatist unrest broke out in January 2004 in the south, which was an autonomous Malay Muslim sultanate until Thailand annexed it in 1902, provoking decades of tension.
Despite attempts by various governments to curb the bloodshed in the Muslim-majority region, the murky nature of the insurgency has prevented much progress, with no groups claiming responsibility or making any demands.
- AFP/jk
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