bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

A hostage crisis at a high-security jail in Indonesia ended on Thursday after Islamist militant prisoners who killed five police surrendered and released an officer they were holding, police said.
The five members of an elite counterterrorism force had been “sadistically” killed by prisoners during the stand-off at the jail on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, police said.
“We have minimised the number of victims. The operation ended at 7.15,” Police Commissioner General Syafruddin said.
Four police were injured and one inmate killed in the incident which began at the jail late on Tuesday.
It was the highest death toll suffered by the counterterrorism police force, known as Detachment, or ‘Densus’, 88, which was set up in 2003 and received training and funding from Australia and the United States.
Syafruddin said the crisis was resolved with a “very soft approach”, though earlier on Thursday a Reuters witness had heard several blasts at the jail.
Indonesia’s chief security minister Wiranto later told a news conference that all the prisoners had surrendered after a police “ambush” forced the last 10 convicts to give up.

He said 155 convicted militants were involved in what he called “an act of terror in the prison”.
“We can’t let our guard down in facing terrorism action and radicalism. This country needs stability,” Wiranto said.
The prisoners are suspected of having taken weapons from the police who were killed.
The deputy police chief Syafruddin said that during the trouble “five of the officers were killed sadistically”.
We can’t let our guard down in facing terrorism action and radicalism. This country needs stability
Wiranto, chief security minister
A police spokesman said earlier most were found with deep wounds on their necks, as well as on other parts of their bodies, and one with a gunshot wound to the head
The counterterrorism squad has been credited for breaking up militant cells in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country in the years after the September 11, attacks on the United States.
But a recent spate of attacks inspired by Islamic State prompted authorities to more than double its force to 1,300 late last year.
In a message carried on its Amaq news agency, Islamic State claimed responsibility and said 10 counterterrorism officers had been killed.
Police had denied that Islamic State was involved and said a dispute had broken out over checks by prison authorities of prisoners’ food.
But police also said some of the prisoners had recently met Aman Abdurrahman, who is believed to be the ideological leader of IS sympathisers in Indonesia. He is on trial for terrorism and is being held at the same prison.
Last year, an attack by two suicide bombers, using pressure cookers packed with explosives, killed three police and wounded 12 people at a Jakarta bus terminal.
In January 2016, four Islamic State-linked militants mounted a gun-and-bomb attack at an intersection outside a Starbucks cafe in central Jakarta, killing themselves and four others.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


2 Malaysians jailed in Guantanamo Bay over terror attacks in Indonesia return home

Indonesia’s ‘eternal snow’ on Puncak Jaya may melt away before 2026 due to climate change

Prabowo’s proposal to scrap regional elections in Indonesia stirs fears for democracy

Death row Filipino arrives home from Indonesia, then goes straight to jail

Indonesia

Hostage crisis ends at high-security Indonesia jail where prisoners ‘sadistically’ killed five counterterror police

Militants who took over Indonesia detention centre surrender

Policemen are seen inside the Mobile Police Brigade (Brimob) headquarters after a hostage crisis at a high-security jail located in the compound was resolved in Depok, south of Jakarta, Indonesia, May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

An officer stands guard near razor wire barricade set up outside the headquarters of elite police unit Mobile Brigade in Depok, West Java, Indonesia. Photo: AP

‘Militant’ inmates kill five police in prison where Jakarta’s ex-governor is held for blasphemy

Indonesian police patrol next to a barbed wire fence outside the mobile brigade headquarters that houses the prison where clashes occurred in Depok, West Java. Photo: EPA

epa05951727 (FILE) - Jakarta's governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as 'Ahok', walks in to a courtroom during his trial at the North Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, 20 April 2017 (reissued 09 May 2017). According to reports, Ahok has been sentenced to two years jail for blasphemy against Islam by an Indonesian court on 09 May 2017. Ahok's lawyers said he will file an appeal against the ruling, media added. EPA/TATAN SYUFLANA / POOL

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Militants who took over Indonesia detention centre surrender
