Paniai, Papua. A group of Papua rebels fatally shot and burned a pickup truck driver in Paniai Regency on Tuesday, police said.

The joint security team known as the Cartenz Peace Operation Task Force attributed the attack to a local rebel cell known for launching deadly assaults on civilian and military targets in recent years.

“The perpetrators of this deadly ambush are from the Intan Jaya armed group led by Undius Kogoya, who has committed many crimes in Paniai Regency in recent times,” said police officer Bayu Suseno, the spokesman for the task force.

The attack occurred at around 1:30 p.m. Papua time (4:30 a.m. GMT) in the district of East Paniai in Central Papua Province, he said.

The victim has been identified as Rusli, 40, who lived in the same district. Residents know him as a pickup truck driver who made a living by transporting basic commodities and construction materials. He was driving his pickup truck when the armed group attacked him, the officer said.

Witnesses saw a burning car with the driver inside, but as they approached, sporadic gunshots from a distance kept them away, Bayu said.

"Afterwards, at least 10 members of the group emerged from roadside bushes brandishing rifles and scared away bystanders,” Bayu said.

When the police arrived, the victim was found dead with burns inside the car, but his attackers had fled to the jungle.

"The task force will continue to take stern measures and legal action against members of the armed group involved in the fatal shooting and fire," Bayu said.

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