Following the explosion, a group of at least seven insurgents opened fire at the two police officers in the other truck as other insurgents stole three M16 rifles and three pistols from the slain officers before fleeing.
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Pongsak Khaonuan, a police investigator in Yala province, said the bomb was detonated as the officers’ auto passed over it, wrecking the vehicle and killing the three instantly.
More than 6,600 people – mostly civilians – have died in an underreported conflict that pits ethnic Malay militants against security forces from Thailand’s Buddhist-majority state.
“They were on a trip to gather intelligence”, a police officer in Krongpinang district told AFP, without giving his name.
The huge crater left by the bomb that killed three policemen and wounded two others in on a road in Ban Benya village, Krong Pinang district of Yala.
One injured policeman was in critical condition, the official added.
But the negotiations have failed to gain traction, while attacks continue to strike across the region.
Insurgents are also believed to have been behind a series of bombing and arson attacks in August on targets in seven provinces popular with tourists, killing four people and injuring dozens more.
Police suspect that a group of insurgents, led by Hubaideela Rommeulee, was behind the attack, as the area where the attack took place is their turf.
However, the Thai authorities have rejected to link the August attacks to the southern militants.
The critics have accused the junta of declaring support for a peace process but at the same time, they refused to pass on any political power to the region.
The ICG said the government was only interested in a “semblance of dialogue” and opposed any devolution of power while the insurgents had not put forward a platform for talks.
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The talks have also been hampered by divisions in the shadowy insurgent network, the report said, stressing that the rebels’ negotiators have shown little ability to control fighters on the ground.
