Four people including a monk were killed and six others were wounded in a drive-by attack by a group of gunmen in Pattani's Mae Lan district yesterday.
The gunmen are believed to be Muslim militants.
The attack took place while Buddhist monks were doing a morning alms round in Ban Mai village, police said.
Six assailants arriving on three motorcycles opened fire on the monks and villagers.
The attack prompted an exchange of gunfire between the assailants and soldiers who were escorting the monks.
Police identified the dead victims as monk, Phra Nom Tanon, 67, Somjai Khunkliang and her son, Thitiwat Khunkliang, 12, and Jamnian Phuttharit, 59.
Six other people who were wounded during the attack were taken to a nearby hospital. They were identified as Pol Lt Col Udomchai Phiewphong; Chinakrit Phromanee, 13; Chai Thongruang, 75; Klao Laksap, 55, Pariphat Kulnarong, 23; and Ramphan Aksornkaew, 57.
Doctors said the six injured victims, who have been since transferred from Pattani Hospital to Yala Medical Centre in neighbouring Yala province, are in a safe condition.
Police said the attackers, who were dressed in camouflage, were armed with AK and M16 assault rifles and were mistaken as a team of security officials.
Eyewitnesses told police some of the attackers were also wounded in the gun fight. Hospitals and local health care outlets have been told to watch out for the suspects, who might seek treatment from them.
Villagers were also told to alert authorities if they received requests for help from wounded people, or learned of anyone dying from bullet wounds.
Twenty-seven spent shells from different types of firearms, a bottle of petrol, and traces of blood were taken from the attack scene for further inspection by the forensic police in Yala. Col Banpot Pulpian, spokesman of the Internal Security Operations Command, condemned the people behind the attack.
He said the victims were innocent people. The attack could not be excused as a fight for justice and was a clear violation of international principles on human rights.
Col Banpot said leaflets were found in the province after the attack. They said the killing in Pattani was carried out in revenge for an attack on three Muslim children and their mother in Narathiwat on Feb 3.
He said information about the attack on the Muslim family was not true, and urged local people to refrain from spreading it further.
Lt Gen Sakol Chuetrakul, the Fourth Army commander, yesterday called a meeting with southern security officials to discuss the incident. Investigators were instructed to speed up their investigation. The general also ordered officials to revise security measures, especially those for Buddhist communities in areas prone to attacks.
Meanwhile, a group of Buddhists in Yala's Muang district have expressed concern over a series of attacks on Buddhists in the far South. The group, the Buddhists Network for Peace in Khuha Muk community, said several Buddhists had been killed since the killing of the three Muslim boys, aged 3, 5.