The Thai police say suspected militants have killed two soldiers before burning their bodies in the country’s southern region.

Police officials said gunmen killed the two soldiers in the Narathiwat Province’s Ruso district on Thursday.

"Around nine gunmen on a pick-up truck followed the victims [in their truck] and first shot dead the driver," district police chief Rueangsak Buadaeng said.

The official added that the second soldier was shot dead after the vehicle crashed into roadside food stalls. The bodies of the two were then set on fire inside their truck.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Since 2004, more than 6,300 people have been killed as a result of militancy in southern Thailand.

Several rebel groups are currently fighting the Thai government for more autonomy for the ethnically-Malay region in southern Thailand.

Thailand is ruled by the junta, which seized power on May 22, 2014 following months of anti-government protests and violence in the country.

General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Thai Prime Minister, who took control of the country then, has vowed to end the conflict by this year.

The Thai junta has pledged to restart stalled peace talks with rebel groups in the deep south.