Troops kill Aceh rebel

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Troops were engaged in a shootout with a group of separatist rebels in Tangse district, Pidie, on Sunday night, killing one of them.

Chief of the Liliwangsa Military Command Col. Djoko Subroto, who oversees security in the Pidie regency, identified the man as Harun Abu Bakar, 30, from Tiro, 135 kilometers east of here.

He said the troops seized a rifle and 75 bullets from the rebels after the 30-minute encounter.

"The rest managed to escape in the dark of the night," he said. The rebels came down to the village for food supplies," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said the troops moved on a tip-off and that they were forced to shoot because the rebels attacked them. (pan)