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Ten killed in Thai mosque attack | Ten killed in Thai mosque attack |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Suspected militants carrying assault rifles have killed at least 10 people and wounded 12 more in a mosque in southern Thailand, police say. | |
Gunmen opened fire on worshippers during evening prayers in the mosque in troubled Narathiwat province. The local imam was among the dead, reports said. | |
Three other attacks in Narathiwat this week have left three people dead. | |
More than 3,700 people have died during a five-year insurgency in southern Thailand's mainly Muslim provinces. | More than 3,700 people have died during a five-year insurgency in southern Thailand's mainly Muslim provinces. |
"They opened fire indiscriminately at about 50 worshippers inside the mosque," a police official said to AFP on condition of anonymity. | "They opened fire indiscriminately at about 50 worshippers inside the mosque," a police official said to AFP on condition of anonymity. |
He said up to five gunmen entered the mosque in Cho-ai-rong district through the back door, although an army spokesman said there were two attackers who entered from separate entrances. | |
Flare-up | |
The attack comes amid a flare-up of violence in the troubled province in the last week. | |
Earlier in the day, suspected militants shot dead a rubber tapper in Rangae district and several soldiers were injured in a bomb blast in the neighbouring Rueso district, Reuters news agency reported. | |
Last week two people were killed in another attack by suspected militants in the province. | |
Previous attacks in the region, which borders Malaysia, have been blamed on Muslim insurgents. | Previous attacks in the region, which borders Malaysia, have been blamed on Muslim insurgents. |
But they tend to target people perceived to be collaborating with the Bangkok government, or to try to force Buddhist residents from the area and establish an Islamic state. | But they tend to target people perceived to be collaborating with the Bangkok government, or to try to force Buddhist residents from the area and establish an Islamic state. |
Thailand annexed the three southern provinces - Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani - in 1902, but the vast majority of people there are Muslim and speak a Malay dialect, in contrast to the Buddhist Thai speakers in the rest of the country. | Thailand annexed the three southern provinces - Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani - in 1902, but the vast majority of people there are Muslim and speak a Malay dialect, in contrast to the Buddhist Thai speakers in the rest of the country. |