Gunmen attacked a helicopter in Indonesia's Papua region, killing its New Zealand pilot shortly after it landed in a remote village in Mimika district of Central Papua province. The pilot, Glen Malcolm Conning, was shot to death by gunmen believed to be from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement. The gunmen released two health workers and two children who were on board and set fire to the plane.
The Indigenous Papuan passengers were unharmed as they were local residents of Alama village, which is located in a mountainous district accessible only by helicopter. A joint security force has been deployed to search for the attackers who fled into the dense jungle.
