Gunmen presumed to be Muslim insurgents stormed a Buddhist temple in southern Thailand, killing two monks and wounding two others, police said Saturday. Witnesses described seeing armed men arrive at the temple on motorcycles, open fire with automatic weapons and then storm inside where they shot the monks in their quarters, according to Thai news report. The watchdog said that since the insurgency flared up in January 2004, BRN's members have targeted Buddhist temples and monks because they consider them emblematic of the Thai Buddhist state's "occupation" of ethnic Malay Muslim territory. The insurgents have also targeted security personnel assigned to provide monks safe passage to and from the temples, it said. Buddhist temples often serve as community centers, and monks are revered in Thailand.

Source: ABC News January 19, 2019 06:31 UTC