Gunmen attack Indonesian troops deployed to rescue NZ pilot

By ALFIAN KARTONO and NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press

JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — Separatist gunmen have opened fire on a military post in Indonesia’s restive Papua province, killing at least six soldiers and leaving dozens of others missing. Attackers from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, carried out the assault  on Saturday in Nduga, a stronghold of separatists who have battled Indonesian rule in the mineral-rich but impoverished region since the early 1960s. The troops were part of a group deployed to search for Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot for the Indonesian aviation company Susi Air who was abducted by the rebels in February. Authorities are still searching for 30 others still missing, including nine believed to be held by the rebels.