An Afghan security official says inmates at a northern prison are holding at least five people hostage after a riot wounded five police officers and 10 inmates, media reports said.
Gen. Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani, the provincial police chief of Jawzjan province, said Sunday that the officers came under the attack while they were collecting cellphones, knives and other contraband inside the prison.
Jawzjani says four police officers and a prosecutor have been taken hostage by the prisoners. He says provincial council members are trying to negotiate an end to the crisis.
The prison complex, located in Shebirghan, the capital of Jawzjan province, holds some 800 inmates in separate male and female lockups on the site. Its prisoners are from both Jawzjan and neighboring Sari Pul province.