3 Killed, 1 Beheaded in Thai South

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061301587.html

3 Killed, 1 Beheaded in Thai South

The Associated Press

Wednesday, June 13, 2007; 3:43 PM


BANGKOK, Thailand -- Police on Wednesday found the head of a man believed to be one of three Buddhists killed a day earlier in a village known for Islamic militancy in southern Thailand.

In other violence linked to the separatist insurgency in the Muslim-majority south, two separate bombs killed one soldier and wounded another nine, police said.


Ten public schools were later burned down in Yala province, police said.

On Tuesday, police found the bodies of three salesmen, including one without a head, in Samakkee village of Narathiwat province, 500 miles south of Bangkok, police Lt. Col. Thanaphol Meechai said. Police blamed Muslim insurgents for the deaths. The head of one of the men was found in the same village Wednesday.

The beheading was the 10th this year and one of 25 since violence in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces flared anew in early 2004.

More than 2,300 people have been killed since January 2004 in the three provinces, which are the only Muslim-dominated areas in the Buddhist-majority country.

"We found the head of the unidentified man this morning. We are investigating how they got into the village where Buddhists have been banned for some time," Thanaphol said.

Samakkee is one of more than 200 villages that have been designated a red zone by the military because of high insurgent activity. Buddhists are banned from entering, Thanaphol said.

The three salesmen somehow got around roadblocks and drove their pickup truck into the village, where their bodies were found, Thanaphol said.

In Yala province, 10 public schools were torched almost simultaneously, said police Lt. Narasak Chiangsuk, blaming Muslim insurgents.

More than 100 public schools _ deemed by some Muslims as places where the government indoctrinates children with un-Islamic values _ have been set ablaze since 2004. Monks and Buddhist residents have been attacked to try to frighten and drive them from the region.

In other violence Wednesday, one soldier was killed and one wounded when suspected insurgents triggered a bomb while their unit was on patrol in Tungyangdaeng district of Pattani province, 470 miles south of Bangkok, police Lt. Kritsana Sirising said.

Another roadside bomb wounded eight soldiers in Pattani province, police Lt. Pipat Suwanarak said.
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