SIX INSURGENTS SHOT DEAD IN SOUTHERN THAILAND

BANGKOK, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- Six suspected separatists were shot dead by
Thai security forces in a rare shootout in the restive southern province of
Pattani Tuesday.

A Thai Army spokesman said the six were gunned down after soldiers and
police used tear gas to storm the house they were hiding in, in Tambun Kuan
Nori, Khok Po district.

He said the authorities received a tip-off that unknown people had entered
the village and behaving suspiciously.

"A police car that went to investigate was shot upon at around 3pm. The
insurgents then hid inside a house," he said when contacted.

According to him, the authorities sought help from local religious leaders
to persuade the six to surrender but to no avail.

"So, we decided to storm the house. During the shootout, two of our men
were injured and six insurgents shot dead," he said, adding that a cache of
weapons was found in the house.

More than 3,600 people had died in daily violence since separatist groups
resumed armed campaign in January 2004 to seek independence for the
Muslim-majority provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala bordering Malaysia.

Bangkok, which has despatched more than 60,000 troops to the area, said the
violence had dropped compared with previous years, but bombings and shootings
still occurred as the insurgents used guerilla tactics.
-- BERNAMA