Indonesia has detained 17 suspects in the killings near the Freeport gold and copper mine in the Indonesian province of Papua.

A top Freeport executive told colleagues in a conference call that six people had been charged.

The 17 are suspected of involvement in ambushes near the largely American-owned Grasberg mine earlier this month, which left three people dead.

At least 12 other people, mostly police, were wounded in the attacks.

Papua has long been the scene of largely peaceful activism for independence from Indonesia, which took control of the area in a disputed 1969 vote.

The recent ambushes killed Australian Drew Grant, an Indonesian security guard and a policeman.

They have variously been blamed on separatists or on security forces who analysts say may be pressing for more payments or perks from the wealthy mine.

The Grasberg mining complex is operated by the US conglomerate Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold.

Suspicions

"We are still questioning (the suspects) intensively to determine their role in the three (fatal) shooting incidents," said Papua Police Chief Bagus Ekodanto.

On Monday, police found bullets and food stored along the road leading to the Freeport mine and suspect the cache could have been intended for another attack, Mr Ekodanto said.

In a conference call with analysts, the company’s CEO, Richard Adkerson, said he knew of 15 arrests, including one man he said apparently acknowledged being a sniper in the attacks.

He said six people had been charged.

A military spokesman said, "no members of the military were among the 17 people detained by police." While the military insist separatists were behind the attacks, the police have said there is no evidence to support this claim.

Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono has even suggested the involvement of foreign countries that have an "interest in destabilising Freeport".

The shootings were the worst violence at Freeport since the killing of three schoolteachers, including two Americans, in August 2002 that sparked widespread protests by locals who feel they are not benefiting from the depletion of Papua’s natural resources.

Foreign journalists are prohibited from visiting the highly militarised province of about 2.5 million people.</p

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