YALIMO REGENCY, HIGHLAND PAPUA, INDONESIA – JANUARY 17, 2025 Armed attack took place on a police patrol in which a member of the Brimob unit (Indonesian paramilitary police), Briptu Iqbal Anwar Arif, was killed.
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- Briptu Iqbal Anwar Arif 1
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- Briptu Iqbal Anwar Arif 2
According to Indonesian police information, the patrol was moving along a mountain road during a routine patrol when they encountered a roadblock made of logs placed across the road. As soon as the vehicles stopped and the officers were inspecting the situation, they were ambushed with gunfire from the surrounding slopes. One of the bullets struck Briptu Iqbal in the neck area, which was a fatal injury.
Indonesian security forces attribute the attack to an armed separatist group known as KKB, or TPNPB, which is the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM). These groups operate in remote mountainous areas of Papua and regularly come into conflict with the army and police.
According to available information, the Yalimo region was at that time one of the active areas where frequent ambushes of patrols and other security incidents occur. After the attack, a large-scale search operation was launched to apprehend the attackers.
