At least 15 shot dead by insurgents in Thailand

Thailand : In a late night shooting, at least 15 people were shot dead and many others were wounded after suspected separatist insurgents attacked village defence volunteers at a security checkpoint in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, security officials said on Wednesday.

The attackers in southern Yala province also used explosives and scattered nails on roads to delay pursuers late on Tuesday night in what authorities described as the biggest gun attack in years.

"This is likely the work of the insurgents," Colonel Pramote Prom-in, a regional security spokesman, said.

"This is one of the biggest attack in recent times," he added.

No terrorist group had claimed responsibility of the attack. 

Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat were part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before Thailand annexed them in 1909.

Some rebel groups in the south have said they are fighting to establish an independent state.