Suspected suicide bombing at Medan police headquarters

A blast outside a police headquarters in Medan, an Indonesian city in North Sumatra, is suspected to be a suicide bombing, local authorities said on Wednesday.

The explosion killed the attacker and injured several officers, according to local broadcaster Metro TV.

What we know so far

The explosion happened at around 8:40 a.m. local time (0140 UTC) on Wednesday, authorities said.

Tatan Dirsan Atmaja, a spokesman for the North Sumatra police, said the suspected suicide bomber died in the attack.

National police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said on Kompas TV that the blast happened in a parking lot near where people were in line waiting for clearance letters from police.

The motive of the attack was not immediately clear.

"We're on alert right now," Prasetyo said.