Banda Aceh – Police in violence torn Aceh province have found 15 more bodies dumped in ravines near the site of a recent massacre, bringing the death toll to 71, police sources and residents said on Sunday.

The bodies were found on Saturday in western Aceh's Alur Baru village, about two km from a village where dozens of people were gunned down last Monday.

"Police have removed the bodies from the ravines but they are yet to be buried," said a local resident, asking not to be named. The bodies have not yet been identified.

West Aceh police chief Lieutenant Colonel Her Harif Sumarwan confirmed the latest find but declined to comment further. Residents said most of the bodies had gunshot wounds.

On Friday, residents found 25 bodies dumped in other ravines near a village where 31 people were shot dead on Monday.

The military says the victims died in a gunfight between soldiers, police and separatist rebels but witnesses say they were gunned down after being ordered out of a house.

Residents said on Friday the other 25 bodies were those of people taken away for questioning after Monday's incident.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), was quoted as saying on Sunday that more than 100 people were killed in to the massacre.

"Families of the victims have said that the number of deaths could surpass 100 ... we are pretty sure that the number of victims will grow," the media Indonesia daily quoted Kontras head Munir as saying.

Resource-rich Aceh has a long history of battling central rule and calls for independence have mounted since former President Suharto's iron rule ended in May last year amid country's worst-ever economy and political crisis.