8 KILLED BY SUSPECTED INSURGENTS IN S. THAILAND

PATTANI, Thailand - The Thai army says suspected Muslim insurgents killed eight civilians in a flurry of attacks in insurgency-plagued southern Thailand.
Col. Parinya Chaidilok says at least six gunmen in a pick-up truck stormed into a house in Yala province late Monday. They opened fire on a Muslim family of five. Four people were killed. One was wounded.
Parinya says two Muslim rubber plantation workers were later found dead outside a nearby mosque. Thai security officials blamed Islamic insurgents bent on stirring up communal tension between Buddhists and Muslims.
In the latest attack, a Buddhist government official was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting Tuesday in Pattani, Parinya said. In a separate incident Monday evening, gunmen fatally shot a Muslim who served as a government-hired security volunteer in Yala province.
Another Muslim man was killed in a drive-by shooting in the same province Monday evening.

In another district of Yala province, suspected militants fatally shot a Buddhist rubber plantation worker Tuesday.
Insurgent attacks which include drive-by shootings and bombings are believed intended to frighten Buddhist residents into leaving the area. They also target Muslims who they believe have collaborated with the government, including soldiers, police, informants and civilians.

Courtesy: The Herald