All Unhurt in Plane Attack
All 93 crew and passengers on board a military transport hit by rebel gunfire escaped the craft before it burst into flames on a runway in Aceh province.
A rebel spokesman said insurgents targeted the government plane because it was flying reinforcements into the troubled province on the northern tip of Sumatra, where rebels are battling for an independent homeland. More than 1,300 people have been killed in fighting in Aceh this year alone.
The attack on the Hercules C-130 was a blow to government efforts to crush the rebel Free Aceh Movement, which has been fighting since 1976 for independence.
The Hercules, one of 24 in the air force’s fleet, was consumed by fire after landing at Lhokseumawe airport, military spokesman Maj. Zainal Mataquin said. No one on board was hurt, the state-run Antara news agency said.
Rebel spokesman Amri Abdul Wahad said 150 rebels took part in the operation, but he refused to say what weapons were used.
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