Indonesia's military confirmed on Wednesday that three soldiers missing since a weekend ambush by rebels in the restive Papua region have been found dead, in a setback for its mission to locate a New Zealand pilot held captive by separatists.
The military said the bodies of those soldiers and another earlier confirmed dead had been airlifted from the area. Five wounded troops who were found the previous day had also been evacuated.
Indonesia's military chief on Tuesday dismissed a claim by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) that 15 troops were killed in the attack on a group of 36 soldiers searching for where Susi Air pilot Philip Mehrtens was being held.
