Islamic separatists threw a pipe bomb at a police checkpoint injuring five people including children in southern Thailand.

The alleged insurgents lobbed the explosive at officers manning a police stop near a Buddhist temple in Pattani province, on March 19.

Police dispatched backup to the scene after receiving a report about the blast at around 6 pm. They arrived with an explosive ordnance team to collect evidence.

A family of five, whose sidecar motorcycle was caught in the attack, were rushed to the Sai Buri Hospital for treatment. They were identified by police as Mayusoh Salaemae, 49, Mareeyah Seng, 42, Nassaran Salaemae, 8, Suriatih, Salaemae 12, and Soleeheen Salaemae, 3.

Police Colonel Theerapot Yindee, superintendent of the Sai Buri Police Station, said: 'The perpetrators were a driver dressed in white and a passenger dressed as a woman, riding a motorcycle of an unknown make and license plate towards Wasukri Beach.

'After the attack, they drove towards Sai Buri City to escape.

'However, it is believed that they are part of a group of insurgents in the Sai Buri and Panare districts, hoping to create unrest in the area. Following the incident, officers were deployed to enclose a 500-metre radius of the area to search for the suspects. 

‘We also ordered all checkpoints on the borders of each district to conduct strict inspections, especially on suspicious vehicles and individuals. We believe the suspects are still hiding in the Sai Buri area.'

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.