Militants attack army unit in Thailand, killing one soldier

A group of suspected militants armed with M-16 assault rifles attacked an army unit protecting Buddhist monks at a temple in Thailand's southernmost province of Narathiwat early Friday, killing one soldier, police said.

A 21-year-old Muslim private, Zulgilfi Binmasae was shot dead, the Thai News Agency reported.

He was among 12 soldiers assigned to guard the Saithong Temple in country's southern border province.

An unknown number of assailants fled the scene after a brief gun battle with soldiers.

The latest killing took place one day after a Buddhist monk in nearby Songkhla province was among nearly 10 people gunned down in the wake of Tak Bai incident on Oct. 25 when 85 Muslim protestors died, mostly from suffocation while being transferred to a military camp in the nearby Pattani province.

The unabated violence in Thailand's deep South has claimed more than 400 lives since early this year.

Source: Xinhua