Farouk Arnaz – Police in Papua have found shell casings during investigations of Sunday's ambush in which nine people traveling in a convoy of US miner PT Freeport McMoran were injured.
"We are still investigating who the perpetrators are. Crime scene officers found 5.56-millimeter caliber shell casings at the scene" Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto told the Jakarta Globe.
Bullets of this caliber are used in M-16, SS-1, Steyr and AK-47 assault rifles, which are issued to the military and police. However, the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) is believed to be in possession of weapons seized from the police and the military since 2003.
"Please give us time to investigate this case. At this point we do not know the type of weapon used during the incident," Agus said.
In January 2008, an OPM member seized at least four SS-1 rifles and ammunition from the police at Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya. In December 2006, the OPM captured an AK-47 and ammunition from a police officer in Mulia, Puncak Jaya.
During Sunday's incident, the gunmen fired at two buses and four other vehicles carrying Freeport employees and their families on the highway between the mine and the town of Kuala Kencana, near Timika, where some Freeport staff live.
The injured included an American and a South African national working at the Grasberg gold and copper mine and the teenage daughter of a mine employee, as well as four Mobile Brigade (Brimob) police officers on security detail.
The American, Howard James Lochart, 59, was wounded in his left eye by glass shrapnel and evacuated to Singapore for treatment. Two policeman, Second Brig. Budi Santoso, who was shot in his left hand, and Second Brig. Asep Supriadi, who was hit in his left calf, were evacuated to the National Police Hospital in East Jakarta for treatment.
Other victims were policemen Second Brig. Sukarti, who was shot in his left leg and First Brig. Abdullah, who was hit by glass shrapnel in his right arm. A driver, Raintung James, was cut by glass in his left temple, while Zamridhal, a Freeport employee, suffered a hand wound. A South African citizen, Sandra Wilson, 62, suffered a minor back injury.
Cindy Mokodampit, the 13-year-old daughter of Freeport employee Ramang Mokodampit, was shot in the left thigh. Mindo Pangaribuan, a Freeport spokesman, said that the situation was back to normal on Monday. "Freeport's operations were not disturbed by Sunday's incident. All the traffic between Timika and our mining site is normal," he told the Jakarta Globe.
A string of similar attacks last year in the vicinity left three people dead, not eight as reported in yesterday's edition.
Commenting on Sunday's incident, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said that the attack was most likely the work of the OPM. "Judging from previous attacks linked to the OPM that we have investigated, Sunday's incident has a similar modus operandi."
Aritonang also said there were no plans to deploy more security forces to the area. "We believe that we have enough officers there and it's not necessary to add more," he said.