Australian patrol kills Timorese militiamen

An Australian Army patrol killed two armed East Timorese militia yesterday in a gunbattle close to the border with Indonesian West Timor.

There were no Australian casualties.

Between three to five militiamen armed with automatic weapons and grenades were in the group which was contacted by the Australian patrol near Maliana.

UN military officials in East Timor said one of the dead militia was wearing Indonesian military camouflage fatigues.

Suspected pro-Jakarta militia shot dead New Zealand soldier Private Leonard Manning near the town of Suai on July 24, the first foreign combat casualty since a UN-backed peace enforcement team landed in East Timor last September.