Jakarta – Around 30 suspected separatist rebels, some armed with automatic rifles, ambushed a group of government officials in Indonesia's Papua province on Monday. At least two of the attackers were injured, officials said.

The attack took place close to the province's border with Papua New Guinea, said Suryanto, who heads the border affairs office in Papua province. The group was traveling in a single car to the border to pick up Indonesian Ambassador to Papua New Guinea John Djopari, said Suryanto, who goes by a single name. None of the Indonesian officials were hurt, said Suryanto, who was traveling with the entourage when the attack occurred.

Soldiers traveling with the officials shot and injured at least two of the rebels. All the insurgents escaped, he said. The entourage returned to Papua's provincial capital, Jayapura, after the incident, Suryanto said.

A small group of rebels in Papua, a resource-rich province about 1,400 miles east of Jakarta, have been fighting for an independent state for the past 39 years. The Indonesian military has blamed separatists for a roadside ambush in August in which two American teachers and an Indonesian colleague were shot to death. The rebels have denied any involvement.