Gunmen kidnap, kill two Indonesian soldiers in Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – Two Indonesian intelligence officers were found shot dead early on Tuesday, March 24, a day after being kidnapped by gunmen in the former separatist rebel heartland of Aceh in the country’s west, a military spokesman said.

“They were found in a remote area not far from where they were were kidnapped,” Iskandar Muda Military Command spokesman Machfud told Rappler.

The two officers, identified as Indra and Hendri, were found face down, half naked. Their hands were tied behind their backs.  

Shell casings from AK-47 and M-16 rifles were found nearby.

Motive?

Police have yet to determine a motive for the killings, or the identities of the gunmen.

A local community leader, M. Daud, said he saw both men on Monday evening, March 23. They visited his house to ask about Din Minimi, a group of former members of the now-defunct Free Aceh Movement (GAM). It is unclear whether the group also operates in North Aceh.

Daud said the two left after receiving a call from their commander. Witnesses then said a group of about 15 gunmen ambushed the soldiers.

Their car was found abandoned a short time later.

Machfud, however, denied the military was questioning local residents, saying its presence in the province was limited to “social work such as helping farmers in paddy fields”.

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

Attacks on soldiers are now rare in Aceh, although gun-related violence is not uncommon. – with a report from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com