Insurgent bomb and gun attacks kill three in southern Thailand

Insurgents in southern Thailand killed three people in a spate of bomb and gun attacks overnight targeting military personnel and commercial property, the military said on Thursday.

Three people, two security guards and a soldier, were killed, according to Pramote Prom-in, a spokesman for the military's Internal Security Operations Command.

The insurgent attacks were the first since the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej last month, and defied a request by the military junta to desist while the nation mourns a much-loved monarch who had reigned for seven decades.

The latest attacks took place in Narathiwat and Pattani province, where a separatist insurgency has been raging since 2004, and in neighboring Songkhla province.

"It was the work of insurgents who want to create unrest and destroy trust in the government," Pramote said.

No group has so far claimed responsibility.

The overnight attacks were the biggest since a series of bomb blasts across Thailand's south in August which killed four people and injured dozens, including foreigners.