Gunmen fire at bus at US mine in Indonesia

Gunmen fired Sunday at a bus carrying employees of U.S. mining giant Freeport in eastern Indonesia, injuring five, police and a news report said, in the latest in a series of attacks near the world's largest gold mine that have killed three people.

The official Antara news agency said the bus was attacked as it transported workers to the mine in Papua province. It said the five were hurt by broken glass.

Papua police spokesman Lt. Col. Agus Rianto confirmed the shooting but said he had no information about injuries. A Freeport spokesman could not immediately be reached.

Gunmen fired at another bus in a similar attack Wednesday just after it dropped off Freeport employees. No one was hurt.

A series of ambushes near the mine since July 8 have left three dead. Police have arrested nine suspects, including two Freeport employees, who face charges of premeditated murder and illegal weapons possession.

The mine is a source of tension in Papua, a remote and underdeveloped region that is also home to a low-level insurgency seeking independence from the government thousands of miles (kilometers) away in the capital, Jakarta.

It is unclear if the rebels, who have been implicated in attacks in the past, were involved in the latest shootings.

The company has been regularly targeted by arson and roadside bombs since production began in the 1970s. It is also the focus of regular protests by local residents who feel they are not benefiting from the depletion of Papua's natural resources.

It is difficult to get accurate information out of Papua, a remote and highly militarized area that is off limits to foreign journalists.