BANGKOK (Sputnik) – The soldiers' car was patrolling a road in the Narathiwat province when it was blown up with an improvised explosive device planted under the road, the local Channel Three reported, adding that militants then opened fire on the car, killing all four servicemen inside with their bullets.
Thailand's southern-most Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces on the border with Malaysia are majority-Malay and predominantly Muslim, while the rest of the state’s provinces are mostly populated by Buddhists.
Violence in the region escalated in 2000 and a state of emergency was declared in 2004. Amid the turmoil, several groups of Muslim militants have demanded autonomy for the region or complete secession from Thailand. Some 6,500 people have been killed during the ongoing conflict, with the the majority of them being civilians.
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