Pol Sgt Thorleh Daloh, 40, commander of BPP 444 in Pattani's Yaring district, was shot at the back of his head at close range by a gunman using .38 while he was praying yesterday afternoon at a community mosque in Mayo district's Ban Dan village.

Thorleh was wearing a bullet-proof jacket.

Two other men, Mah Chenae, 82, and Wathae Hae, 72, were hit by the same stray bullet. The two elder, along with the third injured person, Yasoh Ali, were being treated at a local hospital.

Initial investigation said the shooting sent several dozens of Muslims running in all directions, permitting the gunmen to blend in as they make their getaway.

Commander of the Ninth Police Region, Pol Lt. General Adul Saengsingkoew, rushed to the crime scene as authority sealed off the village to carry out an immediate investigation.

Adul blamed the insurgents for the yesterday shooting, saying the attack suggested that the militants were beginning to show sign of fatigue and therefore they have to select such a target as the mosque in order to create the needed psychological warfare.

Instead of winning the people over, the insurgents will force the people to turn against them because of they had disrespected the sanctity of the mosque, Adul said.

Officer Thorleh laid in a pool of blood as reinforcement and investigating team arrived at the scene of the shooting.

More than 1,200 people have been killed since January 2004 due to insurgent violence in the three southernmost provinces. Most of the victims are Muslims. Authority blamed Malay separatists seeking to carve out a separate homeland.

Majorities of the local population are Muslims of Malay ethnicity.

No one has claimed responsibility for the violence.

The Nation