PATTANI?A Muslim schoolteacher was among two people shot dead Friday by suspected militants in Thailand's troubled south, police said.

The 32-year-old religious teacher was gunned down as he left a mosque in Yarang district of Pattani province after Friday prayers. The motive of the attack was unknown.

"He was shot twice and died instantly in front of the mosque," Police Lieutenant Pawee Munmuang said by telephone.

In a separate incident elsewhere in Pattani, a 48-year-old Buddhist man was shot dead in a drive-by shooting, officials said.

Shadowy insurgents have waged a violent campaign in the region since early 2004, leaving more than 4,300 people dead, both Muslims and Buddhists.