Five soldiers were injured, two severely, when their patrol unit was ambushed by suspected insurgents Sunday morning in Thailand's restive southern province of Yala, local media reported.

The unit, Company 5032, was patrolling a village road at Busue Village in Bannang Sata district of Yala, when they were ambushed by a group of insurgents at 8:40 a.m. (0140 GMT), news network The Nation quoted police as saying.

The soldiers exchanged gunfire with the insurgents briefly before the latter retreated. The five injured soldiers were later rushed to the provincial hospital.

Insurgent violence has troubled Thailand's three southernmost provinces -- Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani -- for more than three years and escalated in latest months. Bombings, shootings and arsons are being staged on an almost daily basis, and more than 2, 000 people have died from the violence in the region in the past three-and-a-half years.

Source: Xinhua