ANTI-TERRORIST cops are investigating after two prisoners reportedly wearing fake suicide vests attacked five officers at HMP Whitemoor today.

The lags slashed and stabbed the guards with improvised blades as they launched the vicious attack at the maximum-security jail in Cambridgeshire this morning, the BBC reports.

1 Five prison officers have been rushed to hospital after they were attacked by two lags at HMP Whitemoor Credit: BPM Media

According to the BBC, one prisoner is serving a sentence for a terrorism offence and the other is a Muslim convert convicted for a violent offence.

All five guards were rushed to hospital after the attack, with the Category A jail reportedly placed under lockdown.

A source told The Daily Express the two cons shouted "Allahu Akbar" as they launched their attack.

The source said: "It was over quite quickly. It was horrendous for the five officers injured, particularly the one who was injured quite seriously.

"Counter-terrorism police are investigating because of the people involved and some of the phrases that were used.

It was horrendous for the five officers injured, particularly the one who was injured quite seriously Prison source

"It was a contained incident. They are not life-threatening injuries. They have blade injuries, they were slashed with an improvised weapon."

HMP Whitemoor houses around 450 inmates, including some of Britain's most dangerous terrorists, with around half of the lags Muslim in recent years.

Prison reports on Whitemoor have warned convicts, some jailed for terror offences, pressurised other prisoners to convert to Islam.

The two prisoners mounted today's attack as the cells were unlocked, with one officer said to have been stabbed and slashed before colleagues rushed to help.

'SERIOUS ASSAULT'

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Five members of staff at HMP Whitemoor attended hospital following a serious assault on an officer by two prisoners on 9 January.

“The incident was quickly resolved by our brave staff and our thoughts are with the injured officers at this time.

“We do not tolerate assaults on our hardworking officers and will push for the strongest possible punishment.

"We have referred the incident to the police and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

Officers from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command are investigating the incident.

No arrests have been made.

A Met Police spokesman said: "Due to certain circumstances relating to this incident, it was deemed appropriate for the investigation to be carried out by officers from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command.

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"However, we must stress that at this early stage of the investigation we are keeping an open mind with regards to any motives and enquiries to establish the full circumstances of the incident are ongoing."

London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan was a prisoner at HMP Whitemoor after he was jailed in 2012 for a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange.

In 2014, a report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on Whitemoor said "some Muslim prisoners convicted of terrorist offences who were an adverse influence on others".