Two of five suspected insurgents killed by soldiers in Narathiwat on Friday have been identified as guerrilla-warfare instructors, according to a source.

The two were among leaders of the October 2004 unrest in Tak Bai and have allegedly trained more than 100 insurgents of the RKK, or Runda Kumpulan Kecil, the source said. The bodies of the five were returned to their families yesterday.

They were killed in a 30-minute gun battle with soldiers after a morning patrol stumbled upon their Taway mountain training camp in Rangae district. All five were Narathiwat residents.

Security officials have sought help from the provincial Islamic committee to head off possible misunderstandings over the shootings that could provoke protests, the source said.

Narathiwat Governor Karan Supakitvi-lekhakan said yesterday the men's families were led to believe they had jobs in Malaysia and were not aware they had joined an insurgent group.

Police stations in all districts of Narathiwat were yesterday on maximum alert for retaliatory attacks. An intensive manhunt is underway for militants who fled.

Search teams were reinforced as the manhunt advanced further into the southern mountains, Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 chief-of-staff Maj-General Chamlong Khunsong said.

Meanwhile, a source reported a Nong Chik district school in Pattani may have to close for good. Villagers protesting about the presence of soldiers have kept their children from attending for the past four months.

Only two of 223 students of Baan Pakaluesong School attend.

Villagers boycotted the school when the Army stationed soldiers there last November. Provincial authorities have failed to persuade the villagers to end their protest, the source said.

Meanwhile, suspected separatist militants shot dead a Narathiwat government official yesterday.

The 43-year-old fisheries officer was gunned down in a drive-by shooting as he returned home from work.

Militants target officials irrespective of belief because they see them as representatives of the state.

Deep South attacks have increased recently in spite of efforts by the Surayud Chulanont government to broker a ceasefire with peace-building measures.