American Pilot's Body Recovered After Deadly Separatist Attack in Indonesia's Papua

Indonesian security forces on Friday recovered the body of an American pilot who was killed after armed separatists attacked and set fire to a small aircraft in the country's conflict-hit Papua Highlands , military officials said.

The victim, Nicholas F. Goselin , a pilot employed by Indonesian aviation company PT AMA , was shot dead on Thursday shortly after landing at the Ipdeheik airstrip in Balinggama village of Yahukimo Regency .

According to Brig. Gen. Riyanto , deputy commander of the Habema Operations Command, a team of 10 personnel recovered the body after troops secured the remote airstrip. The aircraft's seven indigenous Papuan passengers, including three women, were unharmed .

The West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) , the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) , claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the aircraft had violated its ban on civilian flights in areas under its control. The group alleged such flights support Indonesian military operations, a claim denied by the Indonesian military , which said the plane was carrying only civilians.

The rebels also called for international negotiations involving the United Nations , arguing that the decades-long conflict remains unresolved. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy .

Papua has witnessed a long-running separatist insurgency since its incorporation into Indonesia in 1969 following a United Nations-sponsored referendum that many Papuans and observers have long disputed. The resource-rich but impoverished region has experienced recurring violence between Indonesian security forces and separatist fighters, with civilians often caught in the crossfire.

Foreign pilots have increasingly become targets. In recent years, New Zealand pilots Philip Mark Mehrtens and Glen Malcolm Conning were abducted and killed, respectively, in separate attacks linked to Papuan separatist groups.