Police say gunmen killed a mining company guard and wounded two policemen in a patrol car near the large Freeport-McMoRan gold mine in eastern Indonesia.

Papua province police spokesman Col. Wachyono said unidentified gunmen attacked a patrol car carrying the victims Friday from the mining town of Tembagapura to Kuala Kencana.

The guard killed was driving the car. The passengers included another officer and another guard.

The mine in remote Papua is un by a subsidiary of the Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

Most of the mine's 12,000 workers have been striking since Sept. 15 to demand higher salaries.

Last month, two workers were shot by police trying to control a crowd and three were killed by unidentified gunmen.