Four members of a Muslim family have been shot dead while panning for gold in a remote stream in Thailand's "Deep South", an area plagued by insurgency, guns and crime. Around 7,000 people have been killed since 2004 in Thailand's southernmost Muslim-majority provinces, where shadowy insurgents are seeking greater autonomy from Bangkok.
The majority of the victims have been civilians - including Muslim and Buddhist villagers, teachers and state officials - caught up in tit-for-tat violence between the rebels and Thai security forces.
Police said the bodies of a Mayuso Bado, his two sons - the youngest just 16 years old - and his son-in-law, were found by relatives late Thursday after they failed to return from a gold panning mission in Sukhirin district of Narathiwat province.