Rebels kill 2, wound 11 in Thai Muslim south

YALA, Thailand, Aug 2 (Reuters) Separatist rebels ambushed patrolling security forces with guns and bombs in Thailand's rebellious far south today, killing two and wounding 11 in four separate attacks, police and soldiers said.

They detonated a roadside bomb killing one policeman and wounding five travelling in a pickup truck in Pattani, one of the four southern provinces where nearly 2,500 people have been killed in the three-year insurgency.

In Narathiwat province, militants ambushed a truck carrying marines back to base after escorting teachers to school, killing one and wounding two.

In Yala, two defence volunteers were wounded by a roadside bomb while travelling in a truck.

Also in Pattani, two soldiers were wounded in a bomb attack when escorting Buddhist monks collecting alms.

Security personnel as well as Buddhist monks and government schoolteachers are prime targets of militants in the separatist insurgency which re-emerged in January 2004 in the region, a former Muslim sultanate annexed by Thailand about a century ago.

Since last month, security forces have launched almost daily raids on suspected insurgent hideouts in villages and towns and have detained nearly 400 people without charge.

Human rights groups are critical, saying detainees are exposed to potential abuses by the army, which is operating under martial law that grants soldiers immunity from prosecution.

However, a security analyst and researcher who tracks the violence in the region, said the raids and arrests had cut the number of attacks.

Srisompob Jitpiromsri of Prince of Songkhla University in Pattani said the monthly number of violent incidents fell to 147 in July from 247 in June, compared to a range of 110-165 in previous months in 2007.

Srisompob said the spike of incidents in June was attributed to arson attacks on schools seen as a propaganda tool of the largely Buddhist Bangkok government.

''Obviously the crackdown did have a short-term impact on the attacks, but we don't know how long it will last,'' Srisompob told Reuters by telephone.

By July, the number of people killed in the insurgency since January 2004 was 2,493, Srisompob said.

Since taking office last year after a bloodless coup, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has fought off pressure from the Buddhist majority to take stronger action in the Malay-speaking region, saying he remains committed to a peaceful resolution.

He has apologised for the harsh policies of ousted predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra and promised restraint in dealing with the violence. But he has had no more success than Thaksin.

Reuters CS GC1210