Seven GAM members killed in gun battle

Seven GAM members killed in gun battle

EAST ACEH, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam: Seven members of the
rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and two Indonesian soldiers were
killed on Friday after an armed clash on Tateh mountain in East
Aceh regency. The two dead soldiers are First Pvt. Heroik and
First Pvt. Hartono, both from the Army's Special Forces
(Kopassus).

"Another soldier was injured in the incident -- First Sgt.
Solikhin," said Lt. Col. Asep Sapari, a spokesman for the
Indonesian military's (TNI) Aceh operation command.

The remains of the two soldiers were removed to command
headquarters in Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh regency.
Heroik had been shot in the chest, while Hartono had been hit in
the leg. From Lhokseumawe, their remains were taken to Medan, the
capital of North Sumatra, before being transported back to their
respective hometowns for burial.

The incident began when a group of 20 soldiers from Kopassus
patrolling on the mountain came across a group of 10 GAM members.

A gun battle immediately erupted and continued for an hour,
leaving the two Kopassus soldiers and seven GAM members dead. The
remaining GAM members fled the scene. The TNI says the soldiers
managed to recover six rifles and 12 magazines.

The Kopassus patrol was part of the current massive military
operation underway in the troubled province of Aceh, where
martial law has been imposed by the government since May last
year. -- JP