Three killed in restive Thai south 

Source: Reuters

Unknown assailants shot dead three people and burned their bodies in Thailand's predominantly Muslim deep south, according to police.

The victims, who were all Buddhist technicians working for a local telephone company, were gunned down in Pattani province while driving in a pickup truck, which was set alight after the attack, says Police Lieutenant Colonel Duantae Jutanan.

More than 4,000 people, among them Buddhists and Muslims, have been killed in six years of unrest in the rubber-rich region bordering Malaysia, which was an independent sultanate known as Patani until annexed in 1909 by predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

Separatists are blamed for most of the attacks, which often target Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state, such as police, soldiers, government officials and teachers.

In some instances, Muslim villagers accuse government-backed vigilante groups of extrajudicial killings, a claim repeatedly denied by security forces and state officials.

No credible group has claimed responsibility for near daily drive-by shootings and bombings, which continue unabated, despite a massive counterinsurgency effort.

The government has sought to tackle the unrest with a five-year $US1.9 billion stimulus to reduce economic disparity and minimise the influence of insurgents, but many locals believe the measures will be futile.

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