TIMIKA, INDONESIA - Police battled gunmen near a US-owned gold mine in Indonesia's Papua province, a police source said, leaving two officers wounded.

The firefight broke out as police patrolled a road where three people including an Australian mine technician were killed in ambushes over the weekend, the source said, requesting anonymity.

"Two policemen from the Mobile Brigade were wounded after being shot by unidentified attackers during a patrol prior to a visit of high-ranking officials," the police source told AFP.

The road links the coastal town of Timika to the massive Grasberg mine about 65 kilometres (40 miles) to the north. The mine is owned by the local subsidiary of US giant Freeport McMoRan.

A spokesman for Freeport Indonesia said he had heard reports of the firefight but had no further details.

The battle broke out hours after Freeport Indonesia ordered hundreds of its workers not to travel along the road from Timika to the mine due to security fears.