Four Thai soldiers were killed and at least a dozen more wounded when a powerful roadside bomb went off on December 11 in the southern Thai province of Pattani.

The 50-kilogram bomb was hidden in a gas canister and detonated by a remote control at around midday as an army truck approached, a local police officer said.

Meanwhile, two Muslim villagers in neighboring Yala province were shot dead on December 10.

More than 5,500 people have been killed as a result of violence in Thailand's Muslim-majority south since 2004.

Security personnel and those connected with the government are regularly targeted, as well as Muslims perceived to be collaborating with the authorities.

Earlier this year, the Thai Government held its first official peace talks with southern insurgents but no significant breakthroughs were made and attacks have continued in the region.-VNA