Military and police combined forces launched the operation at about 1 am Sunday to raid many locations simultaneously in Yi Ngor district's Ban Kuyi and Bacho district's Ban Sungaibatu after local residents' tipoff indicated some militants were hide in the two village, said army spokesman Col. Acra Tiproch.

Of 30 arrested suspects, five are key militants member of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK), 15 are operational cell members and the rest are supporters and sympathisers, he said.

The group is under leadership of Abdullahmae Pireesi and Makata Pireesi who are also under custody, Acra said.

The officials confiscated two M16 rifles believed to be stolen from the 4th Development Battalion in Narathiwat's Joh I Rong more than three years ago, he said.

"The operation to bring down the militants was conducted precisely as we got tip off from local residents and the information from interrogation of RKK members arrested previously," Acra said. "So that the reason why the operation was done without casualty on both sides," he added.