A suspected insurgent was killed in a standoff with police in Thailand's deep south last week.

Sakariya Saai, 35, squared off against cops when they surrounded his house in Pattani province on July 5.

The officers coverged at the residence following reports from locals of a 'suspicious individual' in the area.

A joint special operation team coordinated with local authorities to negotiate with Sakariya, who has several arrest warrants for allegedly murdering a teacher, killing a police officer, committing arson, and shooting up an office.

However, the gunman allegedly opened fire and hit a village officer, who was rushed to the hospital but died from blood loss.

Law enforcers retaliated and shot at Sakariya as he hunkered down in a room in his basement. He was shot dead at around 3:30 pm, officers said.

Police searched the premises following Sakariya's death and recovered one M16 firearm, a pistol with ammunition, and one pipe bomb.

They took his body to the Khok Pho Hospital for a post-mortem exam. Later in the evening, a group of rowdy locals followed the pick-up truck containing Sakariya's body, apparently booing his corpse.

Islamic separatist terror attacks target the three southernmost provinces of Thailand - Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat - next to the border with Mulsim neighbors Malaysia. Thai state employees and infrastructure are often hit while attacks on civilians are rare.

Officials believe the conflict dates to a deal in 1909 that the British Empire struck to incorporate the Muslim region into the Siamese mainland.

The region's culture is more similar to Malaysia and dramatically different to Buddhist Thais causing decades of tension that lead to the emergence of separatist groups fighting for independence in the 1960s.

The struggle has continued ever since with more than 7,344 people killed and 13,641 injured between January 2004 and March 2022.

The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office warns against all but essential travel to the region while Canada's government warns its nationals to 'avoid all travel' to the three provinces.