Militant attack kills 1, wounds 5 in Thai south

Yala (Thailand), May 22: Suspected Muslim militants shot dead a Buddhist man today, set his body ablaze and left a booby trap which wounded four people, including a British photographer, a Reuters witness said.

The bomb was hidden under a pile of dirt near the charred body of the unidentified man in his 30s and his burnt motorcycle and also wounded a bomb squad officer and two policemen, he said.

Bangkok-based British photographer Philip Blenkinsop, on assignment for Time magazine, told Reuters by telephone from hospital he was hit by stones on the face and had hearing difficulties.

''I can't hear you well, you'll have to speak up,'' he said.

Doctors were also checking his eyes as they saw some scratches on them.

Militants fighting a separatist war against largely Buddhist Thailand often leave booby traps at the sites of their almost daily attacks in three years of violence in which more than 2,100 people have been killed.

On Sunday, they wounded seven policemen and defence volunteers and four civilians, both Muslims and Buddhists, near a market in nearby Narathiwat province, police said.

All were wounded by booby trap bombs following earlier blasts.

Despite the violence and growing calls for more drastic action against the militants, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont insists his government remains committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Reuters>