Police officers survey the site of a bomb attack in Yala province, south of Bangkok August 22, 2009. Three civil servants were killed in a gun and bomb attack and a Muslim rubber tapper shot dead by suspected insurgents in Thailand's deep south on Saturday, police said.
At least 10 men opened fire in the pre-dawn assault in Narathiwat province, police Lt. Thongchai Pookapan said. Three others a soldier, a policeman and a security volunteer were wounded.
The attackers fled in pickup trucks after a 10-minute gunfight, he said.
More than 3,700 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since an Islamic insurgency flared in January 2004. The provinces are the only Muslim-majority areas in the Buddhist-dominated country, and their residents have long complained of discrimination by the central government.
A massive security presence has failed to stop the violence, which has killed more Muslims than Buddhists. The militants target people working with the government, including soldiers, police and informants. They also stage attacks on civilians that are believed to be intended to scare the Buddhist community into fleeing.
The insurgents have made no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state. The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.
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