Six dead in crackdown on rioters

An Islamic leader accused Thai troops of overreacting in a crackdown on rioters that left six people dead, while a military commander said 1,300 people were arrested in the rioting in Thailand’s Muslim-dominated south.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra praised his security forces and vowed tough action against suspected Islamic separatists accused of waging an insurgency in the southern provinces near Malaysia.