Two Aceh rebels killed in North Sumatra

Apriadi Gunawan and Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Medan/Pekanbaru

A joint police-military team from Asahan, North Sumatra, killed two suspected rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and arrested four others in the waters off Asahan on Friday.

Acting on a tip from locals, the joint team conducted a patrol in the waters off Asahan and searched a boat that was anchored at a port.

In the boat, the team found seven GAM fighters, weapons and documents about GAM's activities in the area over the past four months, including a letter designating Misran, a native of Tanjung Tiram Asahan, the GAM commander in the area.

The team attempted to arrest the six but they resisted, prompting the firefight that left the two rebels dead.

Those killed were identified as Ramadhan, alias Mahdan, and Tengku Ismail Syah, both from East Aceh. The other four gunmen -- Wandi, Evi, Azwar and Azlan -- were arrested and are now being detained at the Tanjung Tiram Police station and the Tanjung Tira Military Resort in Asahan regency.

The police and military team confiscated from the boat one AK- 47 with 183 bullets, one SN gun with eight bullets, one 45- caliber gun with 12 bullets, one 38-caliber gun with nine bullets and one grenade.

North Sumatra Police chief of detectives Sr. Comm. Iskandar Hasan said the team was still searching for five other gunmen believed to be armed with one AK-47, one M-16 gun and four pistols.

"One of them is Misran, the one who is said to be the GAM commander for the Asahan area," he told The Jakarta Post.

According to Iskandar, the gunmen had been preying on local residents. He said the rebels often kidnapped local fishermen and demanded ransom of up to Rp 50 million.

"The fishermen remained silent until we captured the gunmen. But now they are free to say the gunmen often extorted money from them," he said.

Iskandar said the police and military had stepped up their patrols following last Tuesday's GAM attack that killed Brig. W. Sihombing of the Labuhan Ruku Asahan Police precinct and injured Sgt. Eko Laksono and Pvt. Sanen of the Navy.

Separately, the Tanjungbalai Karimun Naval Base chief for western Indonesia, First Adm. Tedjo Adhie, said security personnel had wounded a gunman, identified as Achmad, a native of Sigli, North Aceh, on Wednesday.

He said the team, comprising Marines, members of Army Battalion 126, the police's Mobile Brigade and the Sea Security Patrol, were still patrolling the waters.

Tedjo said security personnel had determined the gunman was a GAM member based on his weapons.

He also said a group of gunmen had kidnapped three fishermen from Tanjung Tiram.

According to Tedjo, the gunmen entered the waters off Asahan because they were trying to elude patrols in the waters of Aceh.

"They were tied up so they tried to run to North Sumatra waters to avoid being caught by security personnel," he said.

Tedjo said security personnel were monitoring the waters to prevent other gunmen from gaining a foothold in the area.

"We will continue to patrol the waters to anticipate any possibility. Even in Jakarta, GAM walks around," he said.