Violence in southern Thailand is a sensitive bilateral issue and Thai officials have in the past accused Malaysia of failing to prevent insurgents from crossing the porous border to stage attacks.

 General Abdul Aziz Zainal said he had contacted his Thai counterpart and junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin Thursday to emphasise the sincerity of Malaysia's offer, the state Bernama news agency reported.

 "Trust our sincerity on this," Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying.

 "We are prepared to help them but what is important is for them to trust us. Otherwise it will be difficult for us to help them," he added.

 His comments came after Thai soldiers in Narathiwat province in southern Thailand said Wednesday they had captured 11 militants in a pre-dawn raid on a mosque.

 The military also seized about 2,500 dollars worth of Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit, two M-16s, three guns, radio communication equipment, medical supplies, Thai officials said.

 Despite the militants' cache of Malaysian currency, Abdul Aziz said he believed Thai authorities would not suspect the involvement of Malaysians.

 He also said operations at the shared Malaysia-Thailand border were continuing as normal.

 "We are always on the alert in ensuring security there," he said.

 The two countries are conducting coordinated patrols along their joint border and last month agreed to boost cooperation to end three years of separatist unrest in the Thailand's south in which 2,000 people have died.

 Southern Thailand, which was once an autonomous Malay sultanate, has suffered outbreaks of separatist violence ever since Bangkok annexed the area a century ago.

Agence France Presse