Banda Aceh – At least five people including a marine and two suspected separatist rebels have been killed in the latest violence in the restive Indonesian province of Aceh, the military and residents said Monday.

A marine died in hospital in Medan in the neighbouring province of North Sumatra on Sunday from injuries suffered from a grenade blast during a clash at Lhoknibong in East Aceh on Wednesday, said Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin.

Another military spokesman, Major Ertoto said troops shot dead two suspected rebels in a plantation area in the West Aceh district of Darul Makmur on Sunday. The troops also arrested three other suspected rebels and confiscated two home-made handguns after the clash, Ertoto added.

Two civilians were shot dead and two others were wounded by gunshots during a search by troops for rebels at Kluet Utara in South Aceh on Sunday, residents said. The two were believed to have been killed by soldiers' random shots, they said. Military spokesmen could not immediately confirm the report.

More than 1,700 people died in 2001 and 121 have already been killed this year in the resource-rich province at the northern tip of Sumatra island.

Jakarta last year granted Aceh greater self-rule and a larger share of oil and gas revenues. It also allowed the province to implement Islamic law but ruled out independence as the Free Aceh Movement demands.