Jim Della-Giacoma, Jakarta – At least 14 people died in a wave of election-eve violence in East Timor and as million of Indonesians voted on Thursday the toll rose when rebels killed a soldier guarding a polling boooth.

East Timor police chief Colonel Yusuf Muharam, speaking by phone from the capital Dili, said the soldier was shot and killed near Hatolia in the Ermera district.

"He was guarding the ballot box. He was shot by rebels," Muharam said, adding that he was the only victim in the incident.

Residents reported other attempts overnight to destroy polling stations in the Ermera district, about 45 km (28 miles) southwest of Dili.

Shooting and explosions were heard in the capital Dili and the second town of Baucau late on Wednesday and early Thursday.

Muharam earlier said police shot dead four rebels in an attack on a mobile brigade or riot police post on the outskirts of Dili on Wednesday night on the eve of the poll.

He said rebels had also shot and killed nine civilians in two other incidents.

"From the rebels there were four dead and four captured alive. They received gunshot wounds. Four police were injured by gunfire. No police were killed," Muharam said.

"They were trying to seize weapons from the guard post, but they failed," he said.

"In Baucau, there were two citizens shot dead. In Los Palos, there were seven citizens shot dead and two seriously injured," Muharam said.

He said three people were kidnapped in Los Palos, about 200 km (124 miles) east of the capital. "Security forces are now tracking them," he added.

Muharam said the captured rebels were being treated at police headquarters for their wounds. Hospital sources in Dili said only four police and four rebels were believed to have been injured in the clash.

Diplomatic analysts said it was the biggest surge in deadly violence in East Timor in recent years. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed the territory the following year as its 27th province in a move still not recognised by the United Nations.

Police and residents said voting was generally peaceful through the day.

"There was lots of shooting last night in Dili at around 10 p.m. (1400 GMT)... Things have returned to normal this morning with traffic moving and people voting," a Dili resident said.

"There was a big explosion followed by a lot of gunfire at about 2 a.m. (1800 GMT Wednesday) but we are still in the dark what it was all about," said one resident of Baucau, 100 km (62 miles) east of Dili.

The military estimates there are about 80 anti-Indonesian guerrillas operating in the rugged territory, although other sources say there could be as many as 200.

The Indonesian armed forces maintain a strong presence in East Timor.

One diplomat who watches East Timor closely said the territory had been very tense in recent days after two police were killed in an ambush on Tuesday by a platoon-sized unit of rebels near Baucau.

A similiar sized rebel unit was involved in an ambush in Viqueque last month in which four soldiers and two government officials were killed.

"There have been a lot of leaflets circulating in East Timor that the rebels would try to disrupt the election," the source said.