Jakarta – The United States plans to resume cooperation with Indonesia's armed forces because the Jakarta government has assisted a US investigation into the murder of two American citizens in Papua province, President George W. Bush said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

"For a while Congress put restrictions on Indonesia but now the Congress has changed their attitude and I think we can go forward with a package of mil-to-mil [military-to-military] cooperation because of the cooperation of the Indonesian government on the killings of the two US citizens," he said in an interview in Washington with Indonesia's SCTV. Mr Bush was speaking just before leaving on a tour of several Asian countries, including a visit to Bali on October 22 when he will hold talks with President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The US administration halted almost all military contact with Indonesia over the 1999 bloodshed in East Timor. It had said previously that they will not be restored until soldiers are made to account for abuses.

The US has pressed for answers to an incident in August last year when gunmen fired on a convoy of employees from the US-owned Freeport copper and gold mine in Papua. Two US teachers and an Indonesian died. Twelve others, mostly Americans, were wounded.

Police in Papua said that a witness linked Indonesian special forces soldiers to the killings. The military has blamed a group of separatist rebels. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have visited Papua twice to investigate the case.

Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives voted to withhold funds for a military education and training programme until Jakarta cooperated with US investigators.

Indonesia is seen as an important partner in Washington's war on terror. But the Indonesian military has been accused of gross rights abuses in East Timor in 1999 and in the fight against separatist rebels in Aceh and Papua provinces.