(Photo: Agencies)
BANGKOK, July 3 (Xinhua) -- A ranger and a local villager were killed and four others were injured in a gun attack and a bomb blast in southern Thailand's Yala province on Wednesday.
The attack took place in Wednesday morning in a rubber forest. Two villagers were fired by insurgents in the forest. One was killed at the scene and the other was seriously wounded.
A team of para-military rangers went to the scene after receiving reports of the attack. A bomb planted nearby exploded when they arrived, killing one ranger and injured three others.
All the victims were rushed to hospital.
Police said the insurgents might aim to create unrest in the area. More investigations are underway.
Yala, together with Narathiwat and Pattani, are the three southernmost provinces that have been haunted by violent attacks by separatists since 2004.
There have been thousands of violent incidents since 2004, including bombings, ambushes and arson attacks while more than half of the slain victims were civilians, reports said.
