Officer, 4 attackers dead in Indonesia police station assault: official

Indonesian authorities said today they shot and killed four men who staged an attack on a police headquarters that left one officer dead and several wounded.

The group slammed a minivan into a gate at the station in Riau on Sumatra island and then attacked officers with samurai swords, according to the country's national police.

"Four have been shot to death and one fled," said spokesman Setyo Wasisto.

Television images showed what was reportedly the bodies of four suspects lying on the ground.

Local police initially said they had killed three people and wounded another. Media said one attacker may have had a bomb strapped to his body but police did not immediately confirm the reports.

The attack comes as the Southeast Asian nation has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks on churches and a police station, involving multiple suicide bombings carried out by families, including young children.

It was not clear if today's incident was linked to the earlier attacks in Surabaya, Indonesia's second biggest city, which have been claimed by the Islamic State group.