Robert Isidorus & Arientha Primanita, Jayapura – An official with the Free Papua Movement (OPM) claimed responsibility on Friday for the recent killing of three police officers in the Papua district of Lanny Jaya, refuting an earlier disavowal made by other OPM members.

"OPM did the shootings. I led the shootings," Purom Okiman Wenda, the head of the Pirime branch of OPM, told the Indonesian news portal tempo.co on Friday.

Purom said hundreds of OPM members began the attack when they saw First Brig. Jefri Rumkorem preparing to raise the red-and-white flag of Indonesia in the front yard of the Pirime Police precinct office in Lanny Jaya at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

They immediately shot and killed him, before some of those assembled proceeded to enter the police outpost, where they shot First Brig. Daniel Mukuker. He added that they then found the police chief, Second Insp. Rofli Takabesi, hiding under a bed, fatally shooting him as well.

"We're the pure OPM. We're not Goliat Tabuni who only sits idly. We will continue to move," Purom said.

Goliat, the chief of the OPM branch in Puncak Jaya, a neighboring district, on Thursday denied that his organization was responsible for the attack. "Those were not us [OPM] in Lanny Jaya," said Goliat, who was echoed by his secretary-general, Anton Tabuni.

Purom further said there were thousands of OPM members in Lanny Jaya, ready to launch more attacks.

Meanwhile, police said they had captured six men allegedly involved in the attack on the Pirime Police station.

Adj. Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya, a Papua Police spokesman, said five of the six suspects were arrested in Muaragame, in the subdistrict of Piramid, on Thursday, with the other detained in Pirime. The Pirime suspect was shot in the leg for wielding a machete in an attempt to resist arrest.

"During the [Tuesday] attack, they carried the Bintang Kejora [Morning Star] flag, so they can also face charges of subversion," Jaya said. According to Jaya, police are still searching for five others implicated in Tuesday's violence.

The five arrested in Muaragame were captured at a house believed to be a local OPM coordinating post. Police said they found one West Papua banner, 989 member cards, several flags, including those of the United States, Britain and Papua New Guinea, cell phones, a laptop and various books on the OPM and war strategies, as well as a diary.

The attackers, who police say numbered about 50, also took three firearms from the police post.

In Jakarta, State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman said the attack was part of the OPM's efforts to demonstrate its existence ahead of the group's Dec. 1 anniversary. Police said they were beefing up security in Papua and West Papua ahead of anniversary commemorations. (Suara Pembaruan, JG & BeritaSatu)