Officers killed in Aceh crash
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Eight Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed on Tuesday after their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area between Central Aceh and Biereun regencies.
A TNI spokesman in Aceh, Lt. Col. Asep Sapari, blamed bad weather for the accident at around 1 p.m. and called it a "tragedy".
But, Darwis Jeunib, the commander of rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) group overseeing Biereun regency, claimed through a short messaging service (SMS) circulated to journalists that the helicopter was shot down by his guerrilla fighters.
The crash occurred almost exactly a year after another helicopter mishap on Oct. 5 last year in the ocean off the coast of Lhokseumawe city in North Aceh regency. That too was said to be an accident and claimed the lives of eight TNI soldiers, all from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).
Five of the eight TNI personnel on board the ill-fated Bell 205 were middle-ranking TNI officers, while the remaining three were believed to be the crew of the ill-fated chopper, said Asep.
The chief of the Aceh Besar regency military command Lt. Col. Joko Warsito confirmed on Tuesday evening that one of the eight TNI personnel was chief of the Badak Putih army battalion stationed in Aceh Besar regency, Lt. Col. Suparman.
The remaining seven victims were identified as pilot Maj. Heri Irianto, co-pilot Second Lt. M. Kusworo, and two technicians -- Second Sgt. Sulaiman and Second Sgt. Yarsu -- Maj. Yadi, Second Lt. Yuda and First Pvt. Irawan.
Late on Tuesday, military personnel managed to get to the crash site to recover the bodies which were later taken to Banda Aceh.
Clashes between the military and GAM take place almost daily, but the intensity is said to be lighter compared to last year, when the government declared martial law in the province, followed by major military operations.
The government slightly downgraded the martial law status in May this year and the province is now under a state of civil emergency.