[Bangkok Post] Two militants were killed and two soldiers injured in an exchange of gunfire at a house in Narathiwat province on Saturday morning. A combined security team surrounded the house in Rueso district after an investigation revealed that it was a suspected hideout of key members of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) separatist group. Islamic religious leaders were called in to try to persuade the men inside the house to and surrender. However, the three or four men refused and opened fire instead.The officers returned fire. The exchange of gunfire lasted for more than five minutes before the men jumped from a window and back door to escape.
The officers fired at the men as they fled. Two were gunned down while the others managed to escape. Two soldiers were also injured. The dead suspects were later identified as Abdul-arsae Shika and another man believed to be Arlee Sulong. The bodies of the two men were sent to the hospital for examination before being handed over to their relatives for religious rites.
In another incident on Saturday, two soldiers were slightly injured when a roadside bomb was detonated in Yi-ngo district. The bomb went off as two patrol vehicles carrying 15 soldiers were passing through Kadeng village. Two soldiers in the second vehicle recieved minor injuries.