A 22-year-old army private died early on Tuesday, after he and five other soldiers were seriously wounded when a powerful roadside bomb exploded near their armoured vehicle in Narathiwat province on Monday afternoon.

Also on Monday, two men aged 48 and 36 were shot dead in separate attacks in neighbouring Pattani province, police there said.

More than 3,500 people have been killed since separatist unrest erupted five years ago in the deep south. Tensions have simmered since Thailand annexed the mainly Malay sultanate in 1902. -- AFP