A couple and their two-year-old daughter were killed and twelve-year-old nephew injured in a gun attack in Yala province yesterday. The attack, which authorities have tied to the southern insurgency and say could be a reprisal, took place in front of a rubber wood factory in Bannang Sata district.Police say the family members were heading home from the market when gunmen in a pickup truck attacked them with M16 assault rifles. Investigators said the couple's son, who was a village defense volunteer, escaped unhurt from a bomb attack on Feb 16.
Authorities blamed southern militants for the attack on the family.
The assault could be tied to the murder of Muktar Aleemama, a suspected command leader of southern rebels, and his 6-year-old son on Thursday, officials said. They did not elaborate.