The assistant mayor of Khao Toom Tambon Administrative Organisation (TAO), in Yarang district of Pattani province, was shot dead after attending Friday prayers.
Police say that the victim, Muhamad Noor Arwae, was driving back home from the mosque when he was attacked by unidentified gunmen, adding that it is still unknown whether the assailants were insurgents.
Forensics officers combed the crime scene for evidence which could lead to the perpetrators.
In recent days, violence in the three restive southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, believed to be perpetrated by insurgent groups, has increased substantially.
This includes a gold shop robbery in Su-Ngai Kolok district of Narathiwat on October 5, in which the insurgents escaped with gold ornaments worth 35.6 million baht, the bombings of ATMs of the Islamic Bank, in front of the Fatoni University in Yarang district of Pattani on October 7, and sporadic attacks on CCTV cameras.
