A villager was killed in a drive- by shooting in Thailand's restive southern province of Pattani on Friday morning, Bangkok Post online reported.

Witnesses told police that Somchit Thongna, 34, his wife and young daughter were traveling on a motorcycle along the Pattani- Yala road in Pattani's Yarang district when a gunman on a motorcycle fired at him. The attackers then fled.

Somchit was shot in the head and died on the spot. His wife and 7-year-old daughter were slightly injured when they fell from the motorcycle.

Police blamed separatist militants for the killing.

More than 5,000 people have been killed and over 8,400 injured in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat since violence erupted in January 2004, according to Deep South Watch, an agency that monitors the conflict in the southernmost provinces.