Police found Abdulloh Che-teh, 51, and his wife, Rosidah Wamah, dead in the pickup. The couple's daughter, Sulu Che-teh, 32, and the toddler were taken to hospital.

Police said the gunmen came up behind the pickup on a motorbike and used an automatic rifle.

In Narathiwat, one militant was killed in a gunfight between a unit of soldiers on patrol and a group of insurgents in Tambon Sungai Padi.

Officials said a blood trail suggested another insurgent might have been wounded but managed to escape.

The attack was seen as retaliation for the detention of 130 people during a June 23 raid in Sungai Padi district, mostly in Ban Ai Batu, said Colonel Shinawat Mandate, commander of the Yala Special Task Force.

Another insurgent was killed after a brief gunfight in the province late on Sunday, police said.

The insurgents had been shooting and setting fire to homes in the province, but fled when soldiers arrived and opened fire, killing one of the militants.

Meanwhile, a Muslim-owned petrol station was set on fire yesterday in Tambon Che Hae in Tak Bai district, destroying about 10,000 litres of fuel. It took firemen about an hour to put out the blaze.

In Rusoh district, resident Aree Seng, 55, was shot dead as he was riding his motorbike home in Tambon Laloh.

In Tambon Lamai in Yala, arsonists attacked a school shortly after midnight yesterday, destroying three classrooms.

In neighbouring Pattani province, rebels attempted to sabotage a railway by removing nuts and bolts from the track. Police found the damage.

The Nation

Yala