Police said the insurgents apparently followed the pick-up truck of the subcontractor from Yala and trapped it on the Pattani-Yala Road in Tambon Piutmudee in Yarang district and attacked it at 8 am.
Police said the insurgents caused another vehicle before the pick-up truck to stop with road spikes.
When the pick-up truck of the subcontractor slowed down, two men waiting on the roadside opened fire at the truck. The subcontractor was heading to a spot in Pattani to install new phone lines.
Two more insurgents, who were pillion riders on two motorcycles, also opened fire at the subcontractor's truck with four men inside.
The insurgents set fire to the truck and fled the scene.
Sitthikorn Chaiman, 20, managed to get out of the truck before it was engulfed in the fire. He was shot once on his chest and was rushed to the Yarang district hospital.
Jua Suwanwong, 35, Somchoke Suwanchatree, 23 and Ekkarak Phoonphan, 15, were killed. Their bodies were torched in the fire.
The Nation
