A group of 15 to 17 militants was undergoing training when the Rangers arrived on the scene, which was followed by an exchange of gunfire for half an hour.

It was the first time security officials had discovered an active militant training camp, according to army spokesman Colonel Akra Thiproj. Previously, only abandoned camps were discovered, he added.

A reinforcement of some 200 troops was dispatched later to clear and secure the place.

Five bodies of militants were found at the scene, but a bloody trail indicated some might have escaped with serious injuries, an official said. All the Rangers were safe.

 The officials retrieved two M-16 rifles, a shotgun and some ammunition from the battleground.

The five dead militants were identified as Ahama Hajimajeh, Maphaisa Dolloh, Abdulphata Aloheng, Ismail Waemameng and Sukri Malae. They came from different areas, including Narathiwat's Sungai Padi, Tak Bai and  Waeng districts and Pattani's Nong Chik district.

None of them was a resident of Rangae district.

It remained unclear how officials were able to identify the militants within a few hours after the clash.

Their identities were released to media shortly after the dead bodies were brought from the scene of the clash to a local public school in the district. The bodies were later shifted to Narathiwat Hospital for autopsies.

Militancy flared up in the predominantly Muslim region in the beginning of 2004 and some 2,000 people have died so far.

Authorities are struggling to contain the almost-daily violence as most of the militants do not confront the security forces directly.

 In Narathiwat's Si Sakhon district, a deputy chief of the Tambon Administration Organisation was shot dead and three other people accompanying him were injured during an attack yesterday. Gunmen hiding in the jungle along the roadside fired at the car, killing Laseh Masamae and injuring the three others.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Yala province, women Rangers managed to end a protest by about 100 Muslim women in Muang district, who were demanding that authorities release a man suspected of exploding a bomb at a petrol station recently.

The protesters employed a new tactic to pressure officials by carrying a three-month-old infant with them.

Some 50 unarmed women Rangers were dispatched to negotiate with the protesters. When the demonstrators refused to end the protest, the Rangers used force, dragging and pushing them away from the road, and managed to end the drama peacefully in three hours.