About 20 suspected Muslim terrorists stormed a Buddhist monastery, hacked an elderly monk to death and fatally shot two temple boys Sunday in southern Thailand. Two policemen and six other people were also died in separate incidents across Thailanda’s three southernmost provinces, where more than 1,000 people have died in the Islamic terrorism that flared early last year. Terrorists also set fire to the monks’ living quarters.

Buddhist temples in the region are typically well guarded by soldiers and local volunteers, but eight guards left the temple in Pattani province two weeks ago because of a funding shortage. Four monks escaped the attack unscathed. Two large statues at the temple were decapitated.

Most Thais are Buddhists, but Muslims are a majority in the countrya’s far south, and often complain of being treated like second-class citizens.

Read More: Daily Times