NARATHIWAT, Thailand – Militants are being blamed for a spate of incidents in the Deep South provinces, including an attack Friday (June 28th) inside a mosque, The Bangkok Post reported.

The chief of a village in Narathiwat's Chanae district was gunned down as he sat and prayed. Witnesses say two men pulled up on a motorcycle, one went inside and fired a shot then jumped back on the bike as the driver roared off. The shooting victim was identified as 50-year-old Chalerm Tohha.

Late Thursday, a woman riding a motorcycle with her two young sons was targeted by suspected militants who pulled up alongside her on a road in Yala's Muang district. Suhainee Longsa, 37, died in the attack. Her 2-year old was wounded in the shoulder, while the older boy, 13 was not injured.

In Pattani on Thursday, insurgents tried to detonate a bomb as a truckload of Rangers passed in Yarang district, but the timing was off and there were no casualties. The soldiers were heading for a meeting on internal security operations, National News Bureau of Thailand reported.