Two people have been killed and three security officials injured in an ambush in southern Thailand in the latest in a series of attacks the police have blamed on separatist fighters.

According to police a Buddhist rubber tapper and his wife were shot on their way to work in the province's Khok Pho district early on Tuesday by attackers armed with assault rifles.

The incident took place in Pattani, one of the three Muslim-majority provinces in Thailand's south.

Later three security officers were also wounded when a bomb detonated at the scene of the shooting.

The ambush came a day after a Muslim man attending his son's wedding was shot and killed by attackers riding motorcycles.

Rising violence

The attacks come amid a spike in violence during a five-year insurgency in the area that has left at least 3,700 people dead.

Since last month, at least 40 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in violence in the region.

The deadliest recent incident was the killing of 10 Muslims at a mosque in Narathiwat in early June.

Most of the violence in Thailand's south has been blamed by authorities on Muslim armed separatist groups.

However, no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks.

The fighters in Thailand's southern provinces have not specifically stated their motives, but they are thought to be fighting to establish an independent state in the three Muslim-majority provinces.

The latest rebellion in the former ethnic Malay sultanate began in January 2004 when fighters raided an army base, killing four soldiers.