Militants attack Thai soldiers

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CCTV footage taken from the side of a road showed militants attacking soldiers early on Saturday (July 28), leaving four dead and two others wounded in Pattani province, in Thailand's restive south.

An army spokesman said the six soldiers were on patrol on motorcycles when 20 armed gunmen opened fire on them.

This is the third major incidence of violence since Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, began last week.

A roadside bomb killed five policemen on Wednesday (July 25) in Yala. And a bomb explosion injured three people outside a four-story commercial building in Naratiwat last Friday (July 20).

More than 5,000 people have been killed in 8 years of violence in Thailand's three southern border provinces, which the Thai government blames on Islamic separatist groups who are calling for the return of a Sultanate state.