By Xinhua,
Bangkok : At least 10 people have been killed and 13 others wounded when gunmen opened fire indiscriminately inside a mosque in Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat, officials said.
Five gunmen armed with assault rifles opened fire inside a mosque in Ibaye village Monday, killing 10 people and injuring 13 others, a police official said.
“They opened fire indiscriminately at about 50 worshippers inside the mosque. Ten people were killed, including the local imam,” the official said.
He added that all the injured were in serious condition.
Four people died on the spot, while six others died on the way to a hospital, TV reports said.
Officials said the attack might have been carried out to create tension between Muslim and the Buddhist community in the area.
Thai Army spokesman Prinya Chaidilok told a TV channel that the gunmen were familiar with the area as they have fled the crime scene quickly and without difficulty.