Jakarta – A local Muslim group has accused an Australian gold mining company of involvement in the Muslim-Christian bloodshed in eastern Indonesia's North Maluku islands, the state Antara news agency said Thursday.

The Australian company, Newcrest Mining, immediately denied the reports, which were reportedly based on members of the Ternate Jihad Force sighting the company's helicopter hovering over the troublespots. Newcrest said however that it had lent its helicopter to Indonesian security forces in the North Malukus, where it has a mining site.

North Antara quoted the head of the Jihad (Holy War) force, identified only as 'Achmad' as saying the group believed the helicopter had supplied ammunition and explosives to one side of the conflict in the Koa district. Newcrest has a mining site in Gosokong in the Koa district.

Achmad charged that on December 30 the company helicopter had been seen landing in a crowd during an attack by Koa residents on neighbouring Sidangoli district.

"During the attack ... we saw a helicopter landing amid a large crowd which was attacking Sidangoli residents," Antara quoted him as saying, adding that members of his group also suspected the helicopter of flying people into the clash sites.

The agency also said that on New Year's Eve hundreds of people vandalized the helicopter which had landed at Sultan Babullah airport in Ternate. Hundreds of people also vandalized Newcrest's offices in Santiong, North Ternate district, it said.

In Australia, Newcrest's Australian-based managing director Gordon Galt denied the company was involved in the conflict. But he admitted that the company helicopter had been used by Indonesian authorities.

"We have not been involved in the conflict in any way and we don't seek to become involved, and in fact we'll go to great pains to stay out of it," he told ABC radio.

"None of our equipment or support equipment like helicopters has been used to do anything like that at any time.

"On a number of occasions they've [the Indonesian security forces] moved some of their personnel and commanders from place to place on legitimate peacekeeping activities, and they've asked us could they have access to the helicopter and of course we've given it to them."

Galt said he believed the helicopter had just been seen in the vicinity of clashes over the last few weeks.

"I suspect the helicopter's been seen around areas where there have been conflicts and so people might draw some conclusion," he said. "We're certainly not transporting ammunition or anything else of that nature."