JAKARTA: M. Toyib, an employee of U.S. oil and gas company

JAKARTA: M. Toyib, an employee of U.S. oil and gas company ExxonMobil in Lhokseumauwe was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Brandang subdistrict, Banda Aceh on Thursday, according to an ExxonMobil spokesperson.

The Indonesian military has quickly pointed the finger at Free Aceh Movement separatist rebels.

Maj. Zaenal Mutaqim, spokesman for the military operations in Aceh, said in a press release here on Friday that the victim was shot when he and other workers were riding in an ExxonMobil bus on their way to work.

The local security authorities have stepped up security in the subdistrict to protect the foreign company's local workers from rebel attacks.

The rebels have, in recent years, been accused of targeting ExxonMobil in their province, as they perceive it as an oppressive entity in league with an equally oppressive central government which they claim illegally exploits Acehnese resources. --Antara