Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military said Friday it has killed four more rebels in Aceh province, where troops are in the seventh month of an offensive to crush separatist guerrillas.

Two Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members were killed in a skirmish in Pidie district on Thursday, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki. He said troops seized a rebel flag and ammunition for Kalashnikov rifles. Soldiers shot dead two other rebels in separate clashes in South Aceh the same day, the spokesman said.

Basuki accused the rebels of kidnapping a 45-year-old engineer working for Arun's liquefied natural gas plant in North Aceh on Thursday. He said the rebels demanded a ransom of RP 10 million (around US$7,000).

Indonesia on May 19 pulled out of a ceasefire with GAM, accusing it of cheating on the truce, and sent 40,000 troops and police to wipe out the rebels. Since then it says more than 1,100 guerrillas and 67 police or soldiers have been killed.