Meanwhile, a force of 300 officers netted three suspected militants during a sweep through three districts in Pattani.

In Yala's Yaha district, Suebsak Chansupha, 24, was shot dead while on his way to work. At least two gunmen riding on a motorbike opened fire at Suebsak before speeding away. A bullet hit him in the chest and he died at the scene, police said.

Late on Monday night, two gunmen on a motorbike shot dead Uma Che-ngo, 50, who was riding home on his motorbike in Narathiwat's Rangae district. Police suspect Muslim militants were behind both incidents.

Separately, an unknown number of suspected militants ambushed a security team protecting a polling station in Narathiwat's Joh I Rong district early yesterday morning.

Armed with AK-47 and M-16 assault rifles, the attackers opened fire from a forested area next to the office of Juab's tambon administration organisation. They exchanged fire with the five security volunteers guarding the polling unit for about 15 minutes, before a 30-member reinforcement team arrived.

Joh I Rong Police Superintendent Colonel Thanong-sak Wangsupha said nobody was injured.

Meanwhile, a combined force of about 300 police and soldiers raided 21 sites in Pattani's Muang, Mai Kaen and Yarang districts. They detained three suspected militants for whom arrest warrants had already been issued.

The suspects - Waehama Sameng, 31, Saree Masae, 38, and Seri Masae, 35 - are accused of being involved in the killing of three Buddhists on March 6. They denied the charges, officials said.

Despite yesterday's killings and shootings, the past couple of weeks have seen a slight decline in violence in the region, said Army commander Sondhi Boonyaratklin.

Sondhi insisted the decline was not a result of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's decision to suspend his political activities, saying the insurgency and national politics had different aims.

In Bangkok, the caretaker government yesterday approved the extension of the ongoing emergency decree in the three southernmost provinces and some districts of Songkhla for an additional 30 days, until July 20.

Government spokesperson Surapong Suebwonglee said 454 suspected insurgents had been arrested since the decree was issued.

The controversial decree, issued last October, allows authorities to detain suspected insurgents without charge for up to 30 days and make arrests without warrants.

More than 1,200 lives have been lost since violence re-emerged in the three southernmost two years ago. The region has been hit by near daily attacks, including bombings, shootings and arson attacks.