PATTANI: Suspected militants have detonated a roadside bomb in Thailand's restive south, killing four soldiers.

Police Col. Satanfah Wamasing says the attack occurred Wednesday night in Narathiwat province's Rue So district as a patrol unit of five soldiers were traveling on a pickup truck down a rural road. He says four of the soldiers were killed and the other severely wounded.

Satanfah said Thursday that the suspects detonated the bomb from a nearby spot. He says they took away a soldier's rifle.

Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since an Islamist insurgency erupted in 2004.

The militants have targeted civilians and businesses, as well as symbols of the state, including soldiers and government officials.