Police, military chiefs killed in Aceh

Police, military chiefs killed in Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): District police and military commanders
became the latest casualties of attacks by armed civilians in
Aceh on Monday.

Aceh Police spokesman Lt. Col. Sayed Husaini said two
policemen were shot dead by armed civilians in South Aceh on
Monday morning, when the group ambushed the officers, who were on
their way to South Aceh Police Precinct.

The incident took place at around 9 a.m. local time in Pulo Ie
village, one kilometer away from South Aceh's capital Tapak Tuan.

Second Lt. Cut Ajat, chief of South Kluet Police subprecinct
in South Aceh, died instantly from gunshot wounds to the head,
while Sgt. Maj. Marhayat died hours later at hospital.

Another officer, Corporal Syarifuddin Syam suffered minor
injuries. All victims were rushed to Tapak Tuan General Hospital.

"Right after the attack we combed the nearby area but found
nothing," Sayed said.

A spokesman for the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) denied
responsibility for the attack.

In another incident, Capt. Muhammad Lara, chief of the
Military in Darul Imarah district, Aceh Besar, was shot dead by
gunmen at around 4 p.m. on Monday.

The shooting took place at a ringroad in the Lampeunurot area,
around eight kilometers from the provincial capital Banda Aceh.

Teuku Umar Military Resort chief of staff Lt. Col. Iro Supomo
said that Lara was on his way home on a motorbike when he was
shot by gunmen who had tailed him on a car and three motorcycles.

"He was shot at point-blank. The bullet went through his
stomach and he fell into a gutter," Iro said.

He said local residents rushed Lara to nearby Lilawangsa
Military Hospital, but he died on route.

Both Ajat and Lara were natives of South Aceh.

Meanwhile, a police sergeant who was wounded in recent
violence has died at a hospital in Takengon, a small town south
of Banda Aceh, Maj. Supriadi Djalal of the police precinct said.
(50/51/edt)