The rebels removed 65 nuts and bolts from sleepers on the track between Yala and Narathiwat provinces, forcing trains to suspend services, police said.

Railways have been under maximum security since rebels launched 10 acts of sabotage on the tracks in early June, forcing the suspension of services for five days.

Meanwhile, a 32-year-old Muslim man was shot dead in an ambush early Thursday in Narathiwat province as he headed to a plantation to tap rubber trees, police said.

A gun battle between soldiers and insurgents also broke out in nearby Pattani province, leaving three troops wounded, police added.

The latest violence comes amid a new government crackdown on the insurgency, with about 250 suspected militants arrested over the past two weeks.

As part of the crackdown, security forces in Yala province cordoned off a village as they searched for a militant believed injured in a gunfight on Wednesday.