On the first day of the battle 33 people were killed: 22 soldiers, nine rebels and two civilians.

Troops killed at least 32 Muslim rebels in their biggest battle with the insurgents since 1986, the army said today.

They were wounded in a security operation which killed 15 rebels.

The bombardment killed five rebels, including, several commanders of the group.

Thai security forces then stormed the hospital, killing 10 rebels.

The military said it had lost 27 soldiers and killed 100 rebels.

Government forces killed 30 rebels in a counterattack, the radio report said.

The Russians say they have killed many more rebels, but there is no way to verify those claims.

We killed many rebels there, torched their base deep in the forest.

Turkish security forces, including the army and the police, say they have killed 10,000 rebels in the last decade.