One of the places searched was the house of the wife of Sunkiffi Mana, a suspected insurgent who allegedly took part in the siege of Joh I Rong Hospital on March 13, when the hospital was used as a base to attack a nearby military camp.

Authorities had searched the house on Friday but did not find Sunkiffi.

Sunkiffi’s wife, who asked not be named, told police her husband had left her and their three children six years ago, and she had publicly urged him to surrender to police if he had not committed a crime. She said she earned a living as a rubber-tapper.

After the attack on the hospital, one suspect was arrested in Tambon Manangtayo in Narathiwat’s Muang District.

Meanwhile, militants on Monday night sprayed three neighbouring karaoke venues with M16 bullets in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district. They also threw a homemade bomb weighing approximately two kilograms into one of the business establishments, causing damage to its roof and wall.

The attackers then fled the scene.

Three people were injured including Witthaya Anukarn, 42, a defence volunteer in Tak Bai District who owns one of the karaokes, Winai Hasodsong, 29, owner of another karaoke venue, and Pattaya Meetham, 25, a waitress.

Police stayed clear of the area immediately after the incident, fearing the insurgents would spring a trap on personnel who responded to the attack.

When police did investigate the scene yesterday, they found 50 spent M16 cartridges and an empty clip. Witnesses said that an unknown number of insurgents had participated in the attack.

Tak Bai District superintendent Pol Colonel Jiradej Prasawang said the attack was the work of local insurgents from Tambon Koh Saton in a retaliatory action after they had been targeted by joint security operations recently.