Three more people were shot dead and several injured as violence continued unabated in the Muslim-majority South yesterday. A house and a security checkpoint were also set ablaze.

But there was some good news among the bad - police managed to capture three suspected gunmen in Narathiwat's Rangae district.

A border defence volunteer Mahama Dayo, 46, was killed in a drive-by shooting while riding his motorbike in Yaha district in Yala. Four gunmen riding on motorbikes approached Mahama from behind and shot five rounds at him. He was badly wounded and later pronounced dead at a local hospital because of severe blood loss.

Also in Yala, Police Snr Sgt Maj Somprasong Wongruaydee, 54, was found dead in small waterway in Muang district. Police said Somprasong was riding his motorbike home after work when four gunmen shot him several times.

He suffered a severe head wound and died at the scene. The gunmen also took the officer's 11mm pistol before speeding away.

Investigators said it was not known if the two murders were linked.

In Narathiwat's Bacho district, 14-year-old Chaiwat Buaroay was critically injured in a drive-by shooting. He was talking to relatives in front of a house when shot.

In Rangae district in the same province, a lawyer's assistant named Lateh Dueramae, aged 47, was injured in another drive-by shooting outside a grocery store.

Later, police arrested three suspects believed to have been involved in the shooting. Police also raided a house in Rangae and found a .38 pistol and six bullet casings. Witnesses were able to identify the three, who are now in police custody.

Also in Rangae, four gunmen with AK-47 assault rifles shot dead a 37-year-old man by the roadside. However, relatives of victim Kupeng Tuwaebosu denied officials access to his body and refused to let them conduct a forensic investigation.

Meanwhile, a village checkpoint in Pattani's Khok Pho district was set ablaze around 4am yesterday but villagers manage to put the fire out.

Earlier, around midnight, an unknown number of gunmen opened fire at a house owned by Samart Chumkong in Panare district, Pattani, before setting it on fire. Samart survived the attack but his house was razed.

The three southernmost provinces have been plagued by near daily bombings, shootings and arson attacks since January 2004. More than 1,900 people have been killed, including many police, soldiers, teachers and other officials.

The Nation

Yala