NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Sept 12 (Reuters) - A small remote-controlled bomb exploded in Thailand's predominately Muslim deep south on Friday, killing a suspected bomber and wounding four policemen, police said.

The police officers were escorting a group of teachers home when the 5-kg (11 lb) bomb exploded on a road in Narathiwat, one of the four provinces where more than 3,100 people have been killed in four years of violence.

"The militants were speeding away after detonating the bomb and one of them was hit by shrapnel and killed," a policeman at the scene told Reuters.

Two of the four wounded police officers were in critical condition. Another man suspected of being an accomplice to the bomber was also wounded.

Since the latest violence erupted in 2004, the rebels have never revealed themselves publicly or claimed responsibility for the near daily gun and bomb attacks in the rubber-producing region bordering Malaysia. (Reporting by Surapan Boonthanom; Writing by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Darren Schuettler)

AlertNet news is provided by