A Buddhist deputy village chief was beheaded in Thailand's restive south in what was claimed as a revenge killing for the deaths of 87 Muslims after a demonstration last week, police said.
The death is the second beheading to occur in violent unrest that has gripped Thailand's three Muslim-majority provinces since January this year when a long-running insurgency flared anew and has now left 471 dead.
Police from Sukhirin district in Narathiwat province told AFP that a villager found the head of the deputy chief of Mamong village, who was around 58 years old, early Tuesday. Police found his body later.
"They left a leaflet in handwritten Thai saying this was in revenge for the innocent Tak Bai victims," an officer said of the attackers.
He said they suspected he had died six to eight hours earlier.
Seventy-eight Muslim protesters died in Narathiwat's Tak Bai district on October 25 when they were thrown into police trucks after being arrested at a riot in the restive province. Six others were shot dead at the demonstration. Three were also drowned, according to the foreign ministry.
In May, assailants decapitated an elderly Buddhist as he tapped rubber and vowed more killings if Muslims were arrested in the ongoing violence.
This was the second time that militants have left leaflets claiming retaliation for the deaths of the Muslims last week, with gunmen who shot and wounded three traders on Monday also leaving notes behind.
Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej stepped in to the crisis on Sunday, calling for more restraint from troops in handling the situation and for involvement by locals to bring peace to the region.
Police said Monday that 189 protesters still detained could face charges of sedition, which carries a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, threatening to further fuel the unrest.
Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is facing his biggest ever crisis, announced an independent inquiry last week after coming under scathing criticism for last week's deaths.