By utilizing the tactic of beheadings in southern Thailand , militants ? likely extremist Muslim separatists ? are further both demonstrating how strong and salient this particular modus operandi is in the modern age of global media and identifying kinship, if not actual network affiliation, with other jihadist groups that have used the gruesome attack mode in Iraq , Saudi Arabia , and the Philippines . As a grim ‘test for echo,’ the Islamic insurgency of south Thailand has succeeded in finding global resonance: an April 2005 report in the Christian Science Monitor notes that “Middle East extremist websites have recently featured Muslim deaths in Thailand as a recruiting and fundraising tool.” By June 25, 2005, at least 10 distinct beheadings attributed to radical Islamists had been reported across the region. Regrettably, although perhaps they are the most spectacular attacks, the region has been plagued by a wave of violence since early April. The total killed has increased by nearly one-half in that timeframe, totaling nearly 900 since the insurgency was re-launched in January 2004 (See WAR Report January 12, 2004).

On April 2, 2005, the reach of the separatist violence extended beyond the three southernmost provinces when simultaneous attacks against an international airport, a French-owned supermarket, and a hotel further underscored a sympathy for the tactics of al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya . The scale and sophistication of the attackers appears to be growing as well. For example, Thai security officials estimate over 60 militants were involved in an attack in Yala city on July 14, 2005 utilizing “fire-bombs, explosives and guns, targeting an area near a hotel, two convenience stores, a restaurant and the railway station,” according to Interior Minister Chitchai Wannasathit .