Seven Muslim men held in Thai rebellious south

Bangkok, Apr 4: Thai security forces today said they had detained seven Muslim men suspected in the beheading of a Buddhist and the killing of three policemen in the rebellious south.

The arrests were made in separate raids in the Muslim-majority region, where more than 2,000 people have been killed in three years of separatist insurgency.

They said bomb-making components, two-way radios, ammunition and combat gear were found.

Police were looking for two other Muslim men suspected of killing three policemen at a local government office in Pattani province yesterday after two were arrested and two shot dead during a pursuit, Colonel Wanchai Puangkhumsap told Reuters.

Among those detained were five men suspected of beheading a 75-year-old Buddhist rice miller in Pattani in February. Those raids turned up combat uniforms, electrical wires and nails thought to be used to make bombs, the army said in a statement.

Police and soldiers today raided a grocery shop in a mosque in Narathiwat province where they seized seven two-way radios and 60 pistol bullets, but arrested no one, police said.

In the past month, police and soldiers have become more aggressive in countering the insurgents, raiding villages, seizing bomb-making equipment and detaining more than 100 suspected Muslim men and women.

The number of bomb attacks seems to have declined, but shooting attacks on both civilians and security forces of both faiths continues. A roadside bomb today exploded and slightly wounded three of 16 policemen in a patrol convoy, police said.

Despite growing calls on the government to take tougher action against the militants, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont says he will not reverse a softly-softly approach to resolving the insurgency.

Reuters