JAKARTA • Two Indonesian policemen were injured after they were attacked by a militant wielding a bayonet.

The attack took place yesterday during the Friday evening prayers at the Falatehan Mosque, at about 7.40pm. Many police officers had gathered to pray there as the mosque is near the police headquarters in South Jakarta. The assailant was shot and killed during the assault. The two policemen were rushed to hospital, said national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto.

Inspector-General Setyo said the incident was similar to an attack by two militants in Medan, North Sumatra on Sunday last week. The duo stabbed and killed a policeman after infiltrating a police station.

One of the suspects was said to have fought in the Middle East alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants.

The Medan attack took place at 3am, just as millions of Indonesians were about to celebrate Aidilfitri and mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Last Tuesday, police arrested a man who was seen lurking in the compound of the Central Java Police headquarters at about 1am.

The 31-year-old suspect from Blitar regency in East Java was found carrying a backpack containing at least two knives, used syringes and a bunch of rusty nails.

Indonesian police have been on high alert over the last two weeks, mobilising thousands of officers to safeguard the country amid fears of terror attacks.

Meanwhile, police yesterday displayed scores of notebooks - inscribed with ISIS propaganda - seized during a raid on the home of a suspected militant involved in the Medan attack, reported Reuters.

They said some of the notebooks had pictures of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and quotes attributed to him, and appeared to have been used by children.

Francis Chan