BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A roadside bomb killed seven soldiers in Thailand's restive south Wednesday in what authorities described as the deadliest attack against security forces this year.
The soldiers were on patrol in Narathiwat Province's Rangae district when a bomb exploded near their vehicle, Police Col. Manote Anandritkul said. The explosion trigged by an electrical wire killed them instantly, he said, and destroyed the pickup truck they were in.
"This was an act of revenge against the authorities for cracking down on (insurgents)," he said.
Army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprot said that it was "the deadliest attack against military this year." Two suspects armed with assault rifles were arrested soon after the blast, he said.
The soldiers belonged to the Santisuk Force, which was not involved in fighting but tasked with winning over local Islamic leaders, said Col. Phiraphon Wiriyakul, the military commander in Narathiwat.
"They may have been attacked because they obstructed the movements of insurgents," he said.
Since a Muslim rebellion flared in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in early 2004, near-daily bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks have killed more than 2,000 people.
Soldiers are increasingly falling victim to the roadside bombings, with four killed by an explosion in April.
Along with attacks on soldiers, insurgents have targeted Buddhist civilians in what is believed to be an attempt to drive them from the area, and to rouse animosity between followers of the two religions.
Muslim citizens, especially those seen as collaborating with the government, have also been killed.
In other violence Wednesday, a 47-year-old hospital employee was killed in a shooting as he was riding a motorcycle to work in Pattani, police said. A Muslim man was also shot dead in Yala and his 12-year-old son seriously injured as suspected insurgents opened fire on them, police said.
Meanwhile, authorities have threatened to crackdown on two groups of protesters who have blocked a main road for several days in two adjacent districts in Yala, said Yala's military commander Col. Chinnawat Maendej.
"The protesters have agreed to disperse peacefully," he said. "If they refuse to do so, we will need to force them to open the road because it has caused increasing problems for people."