Ten shot dead in ambush in Indonesia's Papua

Ten people were shot dead in Indonesia's restive eastern province Papua in an ambush police attributed to rebels.

Two others were also seriously injured in the shooting, which police said took place in a remote highland area when about 20 people -- three armed with guns and others with sharp weapons -- attacked a truck full of civilians.

Some of the victims were traders transporting their goods to another village, police said.

Papua's ongoing insurgency aims to gain independence from Indonesia, which took control of the former Dutch colony in the 1960s. Saturday's attack was the deadliest since March when eight telecommunications workers were shot dead.

"When the truck was stopping the KKB opened fire towards the vehicle from 50 metres away," Papua police spokesman Ahmad Mustofa Kamal said in a statement, using an acronym to describe the area's separatist groups. 

"Ten people were killed and two others were severely injured," he added.

Indonesia has also faced protests in the underdeveloped but mineral-rich province against the creation of three new provinces. 

Despite the demonstrations, parliament passed a law in late June approving the division of Papua into five administrative regions, up from two.

Many in the region claim the court's decision did not involve local Papuans and believe it was a bid to strengthen Jakarta's rule.

Papua declared independence from the Dutch in 1961 but neighbouring Indonesia took control two years later, promising a referendum.