[fuyumi]

JAKARTA - A RARE Komodo Dragon has mauled a boy to death on an island that is part of the Komodo national park in eastern Indonesia, police said.

Mansur, nine, was defecating in a bush area on Komodo island on Saturday when he was attacked by a Komodo Dragon, Manggarai barat district police chief Buce Hello said.

'The Komodo attacked him, bit him and tossed him around, and only released him after villagers came and threw stones at it,' Mr Hello said.

The island, one of the largest in the Komodo national park, has no medical clinic and the boy, a local villager, died shortly after the attack, he said.

The park and the western and northern coastlines of neighbouring Flores island are the natural habitats of the giant Komodo Dragon, which is the world's largest monitor lizard.

The lizard can grow up to three metres in length and weigh up to 140 kilograms.

There are an estimated 3,000 Komodo Dragons remaining in the park and surrounding areas, and although they are known to be vicious and aggressive, fatal attacks on humans are rare.