A senator in Thai southernmost province of Narathiwat was shot and injured by unidentified gunmen on Sunday morning, a military source told Xinhua.

Fakrutdin Bodo, the 52-year-old caretaker senator of Narathiwat, was shot injured near a market in Ra-ngae district in Sunday morning while he was riding a motorcycle, the source said.

He was shot at his right jowl and local police sent him to a nearby hospital.

The Governor of Narathiwat Pracha Terat told Xinhua that he has already ordered the police to hunt the suspects. When referring to the incident, he said it was made by the Thai southern insurgents while not related to the politics.

Responding to the shooting, Thai Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry also said it was not an aftermath of the political turmoil since February this year.

At least 1,300 people have been killed since unrest broke out in January 2004 in the provinces along Thailand's border with Malaysia. The violence was blamed on a complex web of Islamic separatists, local corruption and organized crime.

Source: Xinhua