Jakarta – At least seven separatist rebels and one soldier have been killed in the restive Indonesian province of Aceh in the run-up to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the military and the insurgents said Thursday.

A soldier was killed in a clash with rebels of the Free Aceh Movement at Seunagan in West Aceh on Wednesday, said Aceh military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Firdaus (eds: one name).

A rebel was also killed and three others seriously wounded in the same clash which erupted after insurgents ambushed a patrol, he said.

Troops shot dead two rebels during a raid on one of their bases at Tanah Jmbo Aye in North Aceh on Wednesday, he said.

On Tuesday troops shot dead two rebels in two separate clashes at Sawang and Kuta Makmur in the same district, Firdaus said.

The South Aceh district GAM spokesman, Abut Cut Ali, said his men had attacked a passing military truck at Kluet Utara late on Tuesday and killed three soldiers. Firdaus could not immediately confirm the claim.

Ali also said that in a clash in the same area on Wednesday, troops shot dead two rebels.

The Free Aceh Movement has been fighting since 1976 for an independent Islamic state in the oil- and gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. More than 1,600 people have died this year alone.

Pro-independence sentiment has been fueled by Jakarta's draining of the province's natural resources and harsh military operations in the last decade.