BANGKOK, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Suspected insurgents detonated a roadside bomb in Thailand's southern province of Yala early Thursday, wounding two soldiers on patrol critically, police said.

    The ambush took place at around 7 a.m. local time. The Bangkok Post said on its website that policemen Utthapol Homthai and Weerasak Ponpai sustained injuries after the remote controlled bomb went off near a bridge where they halted for rest.

    Utthapol, 22, was wounded in his leg while Weerasak, 28, suffered a shrapnel wound in his head.

    They were rushed to Yala center hospital.

    Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani are the three southern provinces plagued with violence related to an ongoing insurgency which has claimed more than 2,100 lives since it resumed in early 2004.