Banda Aceh – Police said on Monday they found three bombs allegedly planted by separatist rebels on a road often used by police patrols, AFP reported.

The bombs were discovered in Siem on the outskirts of the provincial capital Banda Aceh late Sunday and were safely detonated in a nearby ricefield, said provincial police spokesman Sayed Husaini. He said the bombs, equipped with timers, could be heard within a radius of seven kilometers when they were detonated in a controlled explosion.

A peace deal signed December 9 between the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is close to breaking down amid an upsurge of violence.

Two motorcycle riders wounded two youths when they threw a hand grenade at a beach at Ujong Blang near Lhokseumawe town on Sunday, said military spokesman Eddy Fernandi, adding that the men, believed to GAM members, escaped. A soldier was also seriously wounded on Sunday when rebels attacked a military outpost at Kuta Fajar in South Aceh, Fernandi added.

The government has given the GAM until next week to accept its terms for a meeting aimed at saving the peace deal.