PATTANI, Thailand (AP) — Three alleged Muslim militants have been killed in a raid on their jungle hide-out in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued south.

Marine Capt. Somkiat Pholprayoon says a joint force of marines and rangers killed the three men Thursday in a gunbattle in Narathiwat province during an operation to track a group of insurgents. Two automatic rifles and a pistol were found at the spot along with some ammunition.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in predominantly Buddhist Thailand’s three Muslim-dominated southern provinces since an Islamist separatist insurgency erupted in 2004.