Banda Aceh – Indonesian troops have shot dead three suspected separatist rebel in the restive province of Aceh, the military said Sunday.

The three men were killed in an exchange of fire in Lamno, West Aceh on Saturday, Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin told AFP. The clash followed a raid by some 20 soldiers on a hut where eight suspected rebels were believed to be hiding.

An estimated 10,000 people have been killed since rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began fighting for an independent Islamic state in 1976. More than 200 people have died this year alone. Jakarta last year granted Aceh greater self-rule and a larger share of oil and gas revenues. It also allowed the province to implement selective Islamic law but ruled out independence.