They shoved one to the ground and when he tried to shake free, shot him in the head. Another died from a bullet to the chest. The third was led away, his hands tied behind his back and his shirt covered in blood, only to turn up dead hours later.
The killings point to what critics say is a startling kill-to-capture ratio by US-trained forces at the core of Indonesia's anti-terror fight: One suspect killed for every four arrested.
The deaths not only raise human rights concerns, but risk fueling Islamist propaganda and tarnishing what has been a highly praised campaign that has seen hundreds of suspects arrested and convicted. The killings also mean the suspects cannot be questioned and there is no chance to gather intelligence on their networks.
Indonesia was thrust into the front lines of the war on terror in 2002, when nightclub bombings on the resort island of Bali linked to al-Qaida killed 202 people, many of them tourists. There have been several attacks on Western targets since then, but all have been far less deadly - and the most recent was a year ago.
The country's elite Detachment 88 anti-terror unit has received much of the credit.
Associated Press
(China Daily 06/18/2010 page22)