A group of mobile brigade policemen near an armored car at the Mobile Police Brigade headquarters in Depok, south of Jakarta. Photo: Reuters/Beawiharta
A group of mobile brigade policemen near an armored car at the Mobile Police Brigade headquarters in Depok, south of Jakarta. Photo: Reuters/Beawiharta

Five police officers and one inmate were killed by Islamist militant prisoners during a 36-hour prison siege in Indonesia which started on Tuesday night.

The riot and siege in the prison in Depok, 25 kilometers from the city centre of Jakarta, involved 155 prisoners who support the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), The Straits Times reported.

The five police officers killed were members of an elite counter-terrorism force and had their throats slit by prisoners. National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal said the riot was started by inmates who were angry over checks on food sent to them by their families, VOA News reported.

Four other police officers were injured and one was taken hostage during the siege. The riot ended after 36 hours on Thursday morning when the prisoners surrendered.

“We have minimised the number of victims. The operation ended at 7:15,” deputy chief of national police Syafruddin said.