Five military rangers killed in attack in Thai south

Five military rangers were killed in Thailand on Sunday, police said, when an armed group attacked their base in Yala, a province in the far south that has seen an upsurge in separatist violence.

Police officials said the attack on the base in Muang district came in the early evening and lasted about 10 minutes. The base is some way from the nearest town and further details were not immediately available.

Nearly 3,500 people have been killed in five years of unrest in Yala and the neighbouring provinces of Pattani and Narathiwat abutting Malaysia, which were part of a Muslim sultanate until annexed a century ago by predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

Around 80 percent of the people in the region are Muslim and speak a Malay dialect.

On Saturday a Muslim teenager was killed in Yala when his neck was slashed and his body set on fire. Police could not say who killed him.

On Wednesday, police said suspected separatist insurgents had shot dead a Buddhist defence volunteer and set fire to his body in Pattani province.

The violence in the south has ranged from drive-by shootings to bombings and beheadings. It often targets Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state, such as police, soldiers, government officials and teachers.

No credible group has claimed responsibility for the violence, which the 30,000 troops stationed in the rubber-rich region have failed to quell.

YALA, Thailand, Sept 13 (Reuters)