Jakarta – Trikora Military Commander Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon hinted on Tuesday that the Saturday attack on soldier Pvt. Edi Susanto in Timika-Tembagapura, Irian Jaya, might have involved staff of PT Freeport Indonesia.

Mahidin, whose jurisdiction covers Papua, Maluku and North Maluku, said on the sidelines of a gathering of military commanders from across the country that Papuan security officers found three explosive devices, three detonators, cables, gas and a battery during a raid.

"One detonator went off but it failed to destroy a bridge. All those items are believed to have come from Freeport; they belonged to the company," he said, hinting at a cooperation between Freeport staff and rebels.

Mahidin added the possibility that the attack might have been caused be an internal company problem triggered by hatred and revenge. "If the attack was launched by OPM [Free Papua Organization], they would have seized the belongings of the staffers but there was nothing missing, so it might have been triggered by an internal problem," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

He added that similar motives might have been behind the recent ambush of a Freeport convoy, resulting in the death of two Americans and an Indonesian.