Militants shot a teacher couple and their daughter and set four schools on fire in Thailand's rebellious Muslim south on Saturday despite the post-coup government beginning a concerted effort for peace.
The attacks, which left the teachers and their daughter in critical condition and undergoing emergency surgery, followed an apology for past hard-line government policies from Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who went to the region to deliver it.
They also came a day after prosecutors dropped charges against 92 Muslims involved in a 2004 protest in the region which led to 78 Muslims dying in army custody and fanned the flames of antagonism when the government refused to apologise.