Suspected militant shot dead after stabbing Indonesian policemen

Hanoi (VNA) - Indonesian police shot dead a suspected militant after he stabbed two policemen inside a mosque near the national police headquarters in Jakarta, less than a week after an attack on security forces which killed one police officer.

According to national police spokesman Rikwanto, the attacker had just finished praying with several policemen and other worshippers in the mosque when he stabbed the two officers and screamed “Infidel” (Atheism).

The culprit then ran to a nearby bus terminal and mingled into the crowd. Refusing to surrender, he was shot dead.

The policemen were stabbed in the neck and face and are being treated at a local hospital.

The motive and identity of the attacker are being investigated.

On June 25, two suspected Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the police headquarters in North Sumatra province, leaving one police officer dead. In May, three policemen were killed in twin suicide bombings at a Jakarta bus station.

There is substantial concern that the IS is seeking ways to set up a network in Southeast Asia after its recent failures in Syria and Iraq together with attacks by groups pledging loyalty to the IS.

Indonesian authorities has warned that it has found hotbed of the IS all over the country.-VNA