BANGKOK, 22 February 2012 – Three suspected insurgents have been gunned down during a gunfight with the military in the country’s strife-torn South on Tuesday.
The latest deadly clash in Pattani, one of the three southernmost border provinces that have suffered ceaseless insurgent violence, took place after seven militants ambushed a group of paramilitary forces in Tambon Panare.
Three officers were also wounded after the 20-minute gunfight. A number of weapons, a fake bomb and the suspects’ pickup truck have been retrieved from the clash site.
Security officers have been spreading out to look for the other 4 suspects, who have successfully escaped.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Muslim-dominated Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces for more than 8 years, mostly in drive-by shootings and bombings.
