4 shot dead and burnt by militants in Thai south unrest
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Thai police officers inspect the site of an ambush in which three paramilitary soldiers and a woman were shot dead by militants who then torched their bodies in Thailand's restive southern province of Yala on Sept 15, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
YALA, Thailand (AFP) - Three paramilitary soldiers and a woman were shot dead by militants who then torched their bodies in an early morning ambush in Thailand's restive south, police said on Saturday.
The victims were attacked as they drove to a market in Yala, one of the hotbeds of the eight-year insurgency which has claimed around 5,300 lives in Thailand's Muslim-majority border provinces.
"I think that they had already died before the gunmen set fire to their pick-up truck," said Lieutenant Colonel Charas Chinapong, of Muang district police, adding that the bodies were found inside the truck.
Hundreds of bullet cases were found at the scene, he said.
