Three suspects behind the string of attacks in the South over the Chinese New Year

have been arrested, Fourth Army Area commander Lt-General Viroj Buacharoon said yesterday.

Viroj said the suspects were between 20 and 30 years of age and had admitted to their crimes to the authorities.

The three were paraded in front of the media while Viroj spoke to the press.

He said the attackers had undergone guerrilla combat training - known as RKK (Rundi Kumpulan Kecil) - prior to taking up arms against the state.

He added that the attackers were deployed over the weekend to locations outside their residential area - a similar pattern to other coordinated attacks.

Separately, a Border Patrol Police outpost came under attack by suspected militants in Narathiwat's Sri Sakorn district yesterday. The gunfight lasted for about 10 minutes. No injuries were reported.

In Narathiwat's Yi-ngor district, a bomb was detonated in front of a public school as a security detail was passing. No injuries were reported.

In Chanae district of the same province, a bomb exploded at a bus stop in a remote village.

In Yala, authorities defused a bomb planted in front of a 7-Eleven store, while in Bannang Sata district a soldier was injured in a brief gunfight after his unit was ambushed by suspected militants hiding in a forest.

The Chamber of Commerce in Yala, meanwhile, called on the government to put up more closed-circuit cameras in public areas and to provide residents in rural and the municipality areas with weapons to defend themselves.

In spite of tightened security over the weekend when thousands of residents were celebrating the Chinese New Year, militants were able to carry out at least 38 bombing attacks, 26 cases of arson and mount seven ambushes from Sunday evening to Monday afternoon.