Militants shot dead Sama-ae Doyeng, 46, along with his 11-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son at point-blank range with assault rifles late on Friday night as the three rode a motorcycle home from a mosque in Yala province, said Police Lt-Colonel Wirun Suwannawong.

Sama-ae died instantly and his two children succumbed at a hospital, he said.

A 37-year-old Muslim man was hacked to death by militants in public view at a Yala market late Friday, while police found the body of a man in a river in the province.

Also in Yala, a roadside bomb apparently aimed at a six-man unit of Border Patrol Police (BPP) on their motorbikes in a back street of Yala municipality Saturday afternoon killed a two-year-old girl, Huraida Sideh, and injured her aunt, Suritha Nibersa, 18.

Two BPP officers were seriously injured from the blast, which went off as the unit cruised by on their motorbikes, police said.

In Yala's Muang district, an unidentified 40-year-old Muslim man was gunned down while riding a motorcycle in a drive-by shooting.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Muslims continued their road blockade in Yala's mountainous district of Krong Pinang, calling for the unconditional release of 24 suspected insurgents who had been detained by the military for interrogation, Wirun said.

Their action has prompted Malay Muslims in communities along the Yala-Bethong road to stage demonstrations at two different locations to show moral support.

Angered by the protest, hundreds of Buddhists some 20 kilometres away have staged two counter protests and also blocked a road in nearby districts since Friday, Wirun said. The Buddhists said they would clear the road only if the Muslims did likewise.

Since a Muslim rebellion flared in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in early 2004, near-daily bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks have killed more than 2,000 people. About 65 per cent of the victims who have died since January 2004 were Muslims.

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country, but the southernmost provinces are predominantly Muslims of Malay ethnicity.

Relations between the government and the Malay-speaking community have always been based on suspicion as the latter accuse the state of employing racist policies.

The relationship has hit one of its lowest points since the latest wave of insurgency broke out three years ago, with a growing number of Malay Muslims accusing the state of carrying out targeted killings and employing heavy-handed tactics as they go after the insurgents.

The Nation, Agencies