Banda Aceh – The Indonesian military said separatist rebels had killed seven civilians in the war-torn province of Aceh, according to a report Saturday.

The bodies of the seven men, aged 22 to 50 years, were found in a riverside in Aceh Singkil district on Thursday, local military chief Jamhur Ismail was quoted by the Serambi newspaper as saying. Ismail said the dead – all of whom were fishermen – had been abducted by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels before they were "brutally murdered" with their throats slit and heads slashed by machetes. Rebel officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Elsewhere in the region on Friday, police shot dead a 26-year old man for trying to throw a grenade into a group of policemen conducting a search operation in Aceh Besar district.

The government began an intensive campaign in the oil and gas rich province in May 2003 to eliminate the rebels who have been fighting for independence since 1976. Military and police figures show that more than 2,200 rebels have been killed since the campaign started.