April 28, 2008
NARATHIWAT, Thailand - Suspected separatists shot dead two Muslim men in the Thai south on Sunday, police said, as the army warned of possible strikes by militants on the anniversary of a deadly mosque raid.
A 36-year-old Muslim man suspected of involvement in the insurgency and a 38-year-old local government worker were shot dead in separate incidents in Narathiwat province, police said.
Thai security officials also warned that rebels may be planning attacks to mark the fourth anniversary of the Krue Se Mosque massacre, when 32 people, some suspected rebels, were killed by Thai security forces in Pattani province.
"We have reports that militants may use holidays or anniversaries to stage attacks, which includes the anniversary of Krue Sae Mosque during the 28th to the 30th April," army spokesman Colonel Acar Tiproch told AFP.
Security would be beefed up throughout the troubled region bordering Malaysia to try and prevent any more bloodshed, he said.
More than 3,000 people have been killed since unrest broke out in the Muslim-majority far south of Thailand in January 2004.
