Jakarta – Indonesia's military Friday warned they were ready to crush separatists in the troubled province of Aceh if ordered to, following the gunning down of a soldier and kidnapping of two officers in the strife-torn territory.

The warning came after the latest attack on Indonesian soldiers in Aceh, when a lone gunman shot a soldier in Pante Pisang village in North Aceh on Thursday.

The shooting sparked an intensive security sweep in the district, with troops and police searching for the attacker and two soldiers who had been kidnapped from the same village on Monday, the Aceh-based Serambi daily said.

Volleys of gunshots were heard in the nearby sub-district town of Matang Geulumpangdua late on Thursday and until the early hours of Friday as soldiers combed the area, Serambi said.

The gunfire began after evening prayers for Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, leaving many people trapped in mosques and foodstalls for the night, the daily said.

Shots were also heard in nearby Beng Me village where security personnel were also searching for members of the Free Aceh separatist movement, the daily said.

An unidentified group of men believed to be soldiers also burned down a building in Pante Pisang Thursday witnesses told Serambi. There were no reports of casualties but Serambi said several people were arrested during the operation, although it did not give details.

The district's military and police in Matang Geulumpangdua could not be immediately contacted for comment Friday.

The outbreak of violence came despite appeals for restraint during Ramadan which began on Thursday in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation.

Meanwhile, military spokesman Major General Sudrajat said the armed forces were ready to send troops to the region again, a report said Friday.

"Separatism is unconstitutional and we [the military] have the right to uphold the constitution by any means necessary," Sudrajat said, quoted by the Media Indonesia newspaper. "TNI (the military) is ready to go back to Aceh, if ordered," the spokesman said.

The Republika daily quoted military chief Admiral Widodo Adisucipto as saying that the military was prepared for "the worst thing that may happen" in Aceh. "TNI is always ready. Everybody is prepared, including the main commands and units on the ground," Widodo said.