Four FBI agents visit Papua

JAYAPURA, Papua: Four members of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have visited Papua to ask about an Indonesian police investigation into the ambush killing of two Americans and an Indonesian in August, the provincial police chief said on Tuesday.

Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika told AFP that the four, all members of the FBI, left Papua on Sunday after a visit of three or four days.

He said they were seeking information about the August ambush by unknown gunmen on a mountain road leading to the giant U.S.- owned Freeport copper and gold mine, one of the world's largest.

The three dead were all employees of an international school operated by Freeport. Another 12 Freeport employees, mostly Americans, were also wounded.

"We're working very closely with the Indonesian authorities," a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said. "They're doing a good job of investigating this."

Pastika, who met FBI agents for three or four hours, said the agents themselves were not investigating.

"They wanted to get information from us, what we have done, and discuss it with us, maybe offer ideas about things not yet done," Pastika said.

The visit marks the second time the FBI has visited Papua to monitor the case. -- AFP