Jakarta – Troops killed six suspected separatist rebels and injured three others in two separate incidents in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, a report said Tuesday.

Colonel Syafnil Armen, chief of the military command based in Lhokseumawe, the main city of North Aceh district, was quoted by the state Antara news agency as saying four suspected rebels were shot dead Monday in a chase in Central Aceh. The two others were killed in an armed encounter in East Aceh, also on Monday, he added.

Armen said the first incident began when a group of rebels, riding on a van, broke through a security checkpoint manned by soldiers, who later chased and opened fire on the vehicle, killing four of them.

In the second encounter, troops fired at rebels in a chase, killing two and wounded three others, Armen said. He added a fourth rebel might have escaped with gunshot wounds.

Soldiers and crack riot police were continuing a sweeping operation to search for suspected strongholds of the rebels, he said. Aceh police spokeswoman Major P. Budiastuti, contacted by AFP, confirmed the incidents but declined to give further details.