BANGKOK, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Thai Army on Tuesday released a report indicating that the firearms seized from three insurgents killed during a recent clash with security forces in Thailand's restive south had been used in various attacks on innocent residents.
"The three slain insurgents had been wanted on 10 arrest warrants, including for bombings in Phuket, a hypermarket in Pattani, and a gold robbery in Songkhla province," said Maj Gen Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for the army's Internal Security Operations Command for Area 4.
"We also had forensic experts examine the three rifles seized from the dead insurgents and found they were linked to 22 criminal activities in Thailand's South," said Pramote.
On April 30, Thai security forces shot and killed three suspected insurgents during a raid in southern Pattani province, with authorities alleging the men were planning to mount an attack during the fasting month of Ramadan.
More than 7,000 people have died in the Deep South since the insurgency reignited in January 2004. The region encompasses the Malay-speaking provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, as well as four districts in neighboring Songkhla. Enditem
