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)