One killed, 6 wounded in Thailand's restive south

PATTANI, Thailand, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Two suspected insurgents killed a Buddhist woman and seriously wounded her husband as they were working at a rice mill in Thailand's restive south on Thursday, police said.

After the insurgents had sprayed the couple with bullets, they left two bombs at the mill in Pattani province and one of these wounded five people who had gathered at the scene, police said.

The second bomb exploded while officials were investigating the incident, but nobody was hurt, they added.

The troubled region bordering Malaysia, only a few hours by car from some of Thailand's best-known tourist beaches, has seen an upsurge in violence as ethnic Malay Muslims fight for autonomy from Thailand's Buddhist majority.

The violence -- from drive-by shootings to bombings and beheadings -- has killed more than 3,600 people in the past five years.

Local Muslims largely oppose the presence of tens of thousands of police, soldiers and state-armed Buddhist guards in the rubber-rich region, which was part of a Malay Muslim sultanate until annexed by Thailand a century ago. (Reporting by Surapan Boonthanom, Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Alan Raybould)