Soldier killed by roadside bomb in Thai south

A soldier was killed when a roadside bomb targeting an army patrol exploded in Thailand's restive south on Tuesday, police said.

The bomb was detonated as troops travelled on foot to a school in Pattani, one of three mainly Muslim provinces bordering Malaysia where 43 people have been killed and more than 60 wounded in the last month.

The unit were assigned to escort school teachers, who have been frequently targeted during a shadowy five-year conflict that has claimed nearly 3,500 lives.

No credible group has claimed responsibility for the gun and bomb attacks in the rubber-producing southern provinces, which were part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before they were annexed by Buddhist Thailand a century ago.

YALA, Thailand, June 30 (Reuters)