Four suspected Islamic separatists were killed in a clash with soldiers in Thailand.

The alleged militants were reportedly hiding in two houses in Yala province in the country's deep south.

State troops converged on the homes early morning on January 27, following tip-offs from residents about the presence of insurgent groups in the area.

Police Colonel Kiatisak Neewong, spokesman for Internal Security Operations Command Region 4, said the gunfight broke out when the suspects tried to flee from the surrounding soldiers.

He said: ‘Three men jumped out and shot at officers to clear an escape route. After the gunfire stopped, it was found that all three perpetrators were dead. No officers were harmed.'

‘After the sound of gunfire ended, we found three of them killed near the house, while officers were safe.'

The last suspect was found at a separate house. Police requested village and religious leaders to negotiate with him, but he allegedly threw a pipe bomb at the officers, prompting them to shoot him dead in retaliation.

Officers named the deceased as Kamarudin Sama-ae, 42, Abu Bakar Yasi, 44, Harong Wakoji, 47, and Irfan Manomaeng, 24. They were all wanted on warrants for armed attacks and bombings in the province, except for Irfan who was linked to a 2023 bombing at a local district.

Police also seized from the scene several rifles, ammunition, communication devices, a homemade pipe bomb, and separatist flags.

Footage shows the bodies of the deceased being returned to their families.

Police Lieutenant General Paisal Noosang, commander of the Fourth Army Area Command, said: 'I would like to express my condolences to the families of the deceased. I have emphasised that the authorities should proceed according to the law and exercise maximum restraint, but the perpetrators opened fire and were about to harm the officers first, so it was necessary to retaliate.'

Officials said they were expanding the investigation to trace the source of the confiscated firearms.

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.