3 killed in Indonesia Police HQ attack

Three militants were killed and one injured when eight terrorists attacked a police headquarters in Indonesia's Riau province on Wednesday, police said.

This was the second attack on a police premise in the country since Monday.

The militants had arrived in a white minivan at the headquarters in Pekanbaru at 9 a.m. They sprayed a hail of bullets and used swords to stab police personnel, Xinhua news agency reported.

While the police managed to shoot four of the attackers, the remaining five escaped, said the police chief of Riau. A search is on to nab the rest.

The attack comes days after over two dozen people were killed in a series of terrorist strikes in Indonesia, including suicide bombings by a family of six in three churches on Sunday in the islands second largest city, Surabaya.

It is said to be the deadliest since the 2002 Bali attack. A suicide bombing was also reported at the city's police headquarters on Monday when bike borne attackers blew themselves up at the check point to the precinct.

--IANS

and/in