15 Killed in Attacks in Southern Thailand

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 1, 2007
PATTANI, Thailand, May 31 (AP) — A roadside bomb killed 10 paramilitary troops in southern Thailand on Thursday, while in a separate attack gunmen fired into a mosque and killed five people, a Thai Army spokesman said.
The bomb went off as government-hired paramilitary rangers returned from negotiations with Muslim protesters, killing 10 of them, said the spokesman, Col. Akara Thiprote. Two rangers were slightly wounded.
The bombing took place in an area that has been under a military curfew after a mosque bombing and a grenade attack on a tea shop that killed 10 people and wounded more than 20 others on March 14.
After Thursday’s bombing, an unknown number of assailants opened fire on a group of Muslim villagers leaving a mosque after evening prayers in a nearby area, killing five people, Colonel Akara said.
Since a Muslim rebellion flared in the three southernmost provinces in early 2004, near-daily bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks have killed more than 2,200 people.
Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist, but Muslims are a majority in the far south, where they have long complained of discrimination.