Three policemen were killed and six others injured in an ambush along a road in Narathiwat, southern Thailand this afternoon.

The 1pm incident occurred in Kampung Moh Sawa.

Narathiwat police chief Major-General Pattanawut Angkanawin said the victims were travelling in a pick-up vehicle and passing the village when it skidded towards a road-shoulder and struck a bomb which was planted there.

At that juncture, an armed group attacked them with grenades and fired shots in their direction, he told reporters today.

He said there was an exchange of gunfire when security forces arrived at the scene, before the assailants fled from the scene.

At the time, the policemen were heading to the Chana police station, added Pattanawut.

- Bernama