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Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin distanced himself from the bloody incident , telling journalists that he has repeatedly told officials to be extra careful when working in the deep south where more than 2,300 have been killed since January 2004.

"I have repeated said that we can't be complacent and that the area we are working in is one that is in crisis," Sonthi said.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, meanwhile, said he favoured the idea of using robots in defusing bomb and urged the country's youth to contribute in this endeavour.

The twin attacks on Tuesday killed one police officer and wounded 19 others, including eight police officers and three local reporters. The first explosive lured both officials and local residents to the scene just to be met with a second bomb that was set off remotely about 30 minutes later. A 48yearold police sergeant major later died from his injuries.

The incident was a set back for the security agencies. Many were claiming successes with their shake down operation that saw combined forces of about 300 hundred officials carrying out a monthlong sweep in two violenceprone districts that resulted in the detention of more than 350 suspected insurgents and sympathisers.

The sweep was largely for public consumption as all insurgents fled Banang Sata and Krong Pinang districts on the first day of the operation.

The Tuesday twin bomb attacks also came on the day the government formally extended a state of emergency across Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces along Thailand's border with Malaysia.

Meanwhile, in Narathiwat's Rusoh district, rubber taper Doramae Salamae, 48, survived an attempt on his life when a gunman open fired as he was heading to his rubber plantation about 700 metres from his resident.

The incident followed a similar attack in Muang district of the same province the following night when gunmen shot dead Niakae Salamae, 35. Police said the gunman had came from behind on a motorbike and commenced fire at close range. It was not clear if Doramae and Niakae were related. 

In Rangae district, militants destroyed a power generator forcing the local villagers along the Tambon Tanyongmat and Tambon Dusongyor to go without electricity.//The Nation