Restive Duffy Kills 4

More restiveness, although 3 separatists will be less restive now.

3 insurgents, 1 soldier die in gunfight in Thailand's restive south

Soldiers raided a suspected militant hide-out in insurgency-wracked southern Thailand on Sunday, triggering a gun battle that left three suspected Muslim rebels and one soldier dead, the army said.

About a dozen soldiers took part in the raid and subsequent exchange of fire in Yala's Yaha district, Maj. Prawet Chusang said.

"They fired from inside the house as we were about to go in to carry out a search," Prawet said.

Three suspected insurgents and one soldier were killed, and another soldier was wounded, he said, adding that the military detained three more suspected insurgents.

More than 2,400 people have been killed in the predominantly Muslim provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat and some parts of Songkhla since early 2004, when a separatist movement flared up after a lull of more than two decades.

The military considers Yaha district an insurgent stronghold and has enforced a curfew in the area since March.

The military has been launching offensive operations in several areas where insurgents are particularly active since May, detaining hundreds of insurgents for questioning. There have been at least two other gunfights in the restive region this month, leaving eight insurgents dead and one soldier wounded.

Here's something that won't be said. The previous seperatist movement was a communist one. This is an Islamist one. Big difference.