Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels have ambushed and killed three Indonesian soldiers in Aceh province, a report said Tuesday.

The deaths on Saturday came amid an upsurge in reported violence that also left 22 suspected Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels dead and two others wounded on Saturday and Sunday, according to the military.

Lt. Col. Yakraman Yagus, a local military commander, said about 15 GAM members hiding in bushes opened fire on the soldiers as they patrolled a remote forest in Central Aceh, the Serambi daily reported. Authorities 11 months ago declared martial law in Aceh and launched an all-out offensive to crush GAM.

On Monday the martial law administrator, Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya, told a Jakarta radio station that GAM's strength has been reduced to about 40 percent of what it was.

Rebel operations commander in East Aceh, Ishak Daud, denied there had been a severe drop in GAM's numbers. "In war there are retreats, and there are advances," he told AFP in Jakarta on Monday.