INDONESIAN special forces troops slid down ropes from helicopters yesterday to rescue nine people held hostage by rebels in the jungles of Irian Jaya province, a military spokesman said in Jakarta.
"It was a military operation and they were freed as a result of, it," said a military spokesman, Brig Gen Amir Syarifuddin.
The nine - three Indonesians, two Dutch nationals and four Britons - are "in good health" and are currently "under medical supervision," Brig Gen Syarifuddin said. Troops are looking for two Indonesians still in the hands of the rebels, he said.
Brig Gen Syarifuddin said the release took place around seven kilometres (4.3 miles) north east of Geselama, a hamlet a few miles north of Mapnduma, the mountainous site where the original abduction took place.
He declined to comment when asked about casualties in the operation. He did not say whether an armed confrontation took place or provide other details.
But military sources in the Irian Jaya capital of Jayapura said yesterday that three rebels were killed in an armed contact with troops, but gave no further details.
The rebels of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), had taken 26 people hostage in the mountainous area of Mapnduma on January 8th. All but 11 - six Europeans and five Indonesians - had been released before yesterday's operation.
The British ambassador in Jakarta, Mr Graham Burton, welcomed the release, and said that the Indonesian military took "what frankly seemed to be the only reasonable option at that stage, and they succeeded, and we're delighted that they have."
Mr Charles Gray, deputy head of the British embassy, said earlier that the four freed Britons were "in good health," but added that "the exact details are still unclear." The Dutch deputy chief of mission, Mr Dick den Haas, said he was "unbelievably happy," and praised the Indonesian military for having conducted itself "in a wise and calm manner throughout the hostage crisis."
Lieut Gen Suyono, head of the military's general staff, was quoted as saying that efforts to free the two other hostages were continuing.
Gen Suyono gave no details of any planned operations but said chat the current efforts involved sniffer dogs and helicopters.
Mr Gray said the freed hostages were still "up country". "Because of the bad weather conditions it is impossible to lift them out tonight."
The Europeans released are: Mr Daniel Start (21); Mr William Oates (22); Ms Annette van der Kolk (21); and Ms Anna McIvor (20), all Britons; Mr Mark van der Wal, a World Wildlife Fund official, and Ms Martha Klein, a UNESCO environment official, who is eight months pregnant. Both are Dutch.
The hostages were working on a scientific expedition organised by the WWF.
The military operations were launched after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last Thursday withdrew from efforts to get the release of the captives.
"The news of the release, if true, is a great relief for us," said the sister of a released Indonesian hostage, Ms Adinda Saraswati, adding that the family would take her to Bali "to forget all her suffering."
In Kashmir, two Bntonsand two other western hostages held by guerrillas since last July were seen last week and are believed to be still alive, Indian officials said yesterday. They said reports in Britain which quoted their militant captors as saying the hostages had been handed over alive to the Indian army and then possibly killed, appeared without foundation.