BANGKOK, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Two unidentified gunmen killed a village headman Tuesday morning in a drive-by shooting in Thai southern province of Yala.

    Ahama Salong, who was the village head of Baan Klongnamsai, was shot several times in his head and torso in front of his house in Kabang district, the Thai News Agency reported.

    Armed with an assault rifle, the gunmen took Ahama's weapon and fled from the crime scene.

    Investigators searched the area, including nearby houses where they suspected the assailants might have taken shelter, and set up roadblocks in the man-hunt operation.

    Local village officials, schoolteachers, and police and military personnel are frequently targeted in Thailand's ethnic insurgency in its southernmost provinces.

    Over 1,200 people have been killed in the ongoing violence since January 2004. Enditem