Gunmen kidnap, kill two Indonesian soldiers in Aceh

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Two Indonesian intelligence officers have been found shot dead, a day after being kidnapped by gunmen in former rebel heartland.

The bodies of the soldiers were discovered on Tuesday face down and half naked in a remote area in northern Aceh, military spokesman Machfud said.

The hands of one had been bound behind his back.

“Authorities found the bodies this morning in a jungle close to the location where they were kidnapped,” Machfud said.

Police were yet to determine a motive or the identities of those responsible.

Witnesses said a group of gunmen ambushed the soldiers as they returned from questioning residents about former separatist rebels.

Their car was found abandoned a short time later.

Machfud denied the military was questioning local residents, saying its presence in the province was limited to “social work”.

The episode is a reminder of the fragile situation in Aceh a decade after a peace deal ended a 30-year separatist insurgency in the province that left about 25,000 people dead.

Attacks on soldiers are now rare, although gun-related violence is not uncommon.

Story: AFP




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