(Updates number of wounded)
TIMIKA, Indonesia (AFP)--Five police officers were wounded
Wednesday in a battle with gunmen near a U.S.-owned gold mine in
Indonesia's Papua province, a police source said.
The firefight broke out as police patrolled a road where three
people including an Australian mine technician were killed in
ambushes over the weekend, the source said, requesting
anonymity.
"The latest information is that five policemen were wounded in
this afternoon's incident," the source said, raising the number of
those reported wounded from two earlier.
All of the officers received bullet wounds, including one who
was shot in the stomach.
The gunfight broke out as the police were conducting a patrol
ahead of a visit by high-ranking officials.
The road links the coastal town of Timika to the massive
Grasberg mine about 65 kilometers to the north. The mine is owned
by the local subsidiary of U.S. giant Freeport McMoran Copper &
Gold Inc. (FCX).
A spokesman for Freeport Indonesia said he had heard reports of
the firefight but had no further details.
The battle broke out hours after Freeport Indonesia ordered
hundreds of its workers not to travel along the road from Timika to
the mine due to security fears.