Four shot dead in Thai south

Four men, including a school principal, have been shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in Thailand's insurgency-torn south, says the police.

Four men, including a school principal, have been shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in Thailand's insurgency-torn south, police said on Tuesday.

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Three of the victims, including the principal, were killed in drive-by shootings in Pattani province, while the fourth was shot dead in nearby Yala, police said.

The shootings were the latest in a series of near-daily attacks in the Muslim-majority south, where more than 2,600 people have been killed since a separatist insurgency broke out in January 2004.

The Muslim region was annexed by mainly Buddhist Thailand a century ago and separatist tensions have simmered since.