Armed separatists say they attacked soldiers as army was searching for a captured New Zealand pilot.
Separatists in Indonesia’s Papua region say they have killed nine soldiers in an ambush, but the military says one soldier was killed during search operations to find a kidnapped New Zealand pilot.
Indonesian military spokesman Julius Widjojono said on Sunday that soldiers were dispersed to several sites in the search for captured Susi Air pilot Phillip Mehrtens and they were having communication difficulties due to bad weather.
Mehrtens was kidnapped by the rebels at an airport in the remote Nduga district in February.
“As of 2:03pm local time [05:03 GMT Sunday], the information we have is one died,” Widjojono said when asked about the higher casualty numbers. “We have not received any other information because it is difficult to reach the area, especially with the uncertain weather.”
Widjojono said the military will intensify the operation to rescue Mehrtens because they have identified the pilot’s location.
Erratic weather has made the effort challenging, he said.
The West Papua National Liberation Army, the military wing of Papua’s main separatist group, claimed responsibility for an attack on Saturday that they said killed nine soldiers.
