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Indonesian Forces Recover Body of American Pilot Killed in Papua Attack
Security forces recovered the body of an American pilot shot after landing at a remote airstrip in Papua Highlands. The attack was claimed by an armed separatist group that said the plane violated a flight ban.
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Indonesian security forces recovered the body of an American pilot on Friday after armed separatists attacked and burned a small aircraft at the Ipdeheik airstrip in Balinggama village, Yahukimo regency. The pilot, Nicholas F. Goselin, who worked for PT AMA, was shot dead Thursday shortly after landing. Seven indigenous Papuan passengers on the flight were unharmed.
Rebels armed with guns and axes raised the Morning Star flag and released a video claiming responsibility. A spokesman for the West Papua Liberation Army said the aircraft had ignored a ban on civilian flights in areas the group considers operational zones. The Indonesian military denied that the plane carried troops and said the seven passengers were civilians, including three women.
with the airstrip was lost after Goselin reported the landing.
Ten personnel from the Habema Operations Command later secured the site and recovered the body. The spokesman alleged civilian aircraft have been used to transport Indonesian military personnel and warned that more flights would be targeted. The claims could not be independently verified.
A decades-old insurgency in Papua has intensified in the past year, with dozens killed. The group called for international negotiations to address the conflict, which it said has lasted 64 years.
