All five militants involved in the Thursday assault were killed after they attacked police and other targets in downtown Jakarta with bombs, grenades and guns.
Advertisement
Indonesian authorities have vowed to round up members of a terror cell behind the deadly bomb and gun attack on Jakarta.
Insp Gen Tito Karnavian said the attackers had been “neutralised” but were linked to groups across Indonesia and were “part of a global network”.
Indonesia is a safe state and the negative impact of Thursday’s terrorist attacks in downtown Jakarta to tourism industry is limited, Indonesian tourism minister said on Friday.
This morning, police told an Indonesian TV channel they arrested three men suspected of having links to the attack.
A year ago, he left for Syria to join the frontlines of Islamic State, and police believe Naim was closely involved in coordinating Thursday’s assault.
Security forces have been largely successful in stamping out homegrown militancy, but last week’s attack confirms concerns about a resurgence inspired by IS.
He said that an Ahmad Muhazan Saron had kicked off the siege by blowing himself up in a cafe, while two others had died when a bomb one of them was carrying exploded as they tried to throw it at police. Clarifying that those killed included four civilians and four militants, officials added that a victim originally thought to be one of the attackers was actually a bystander.
“I want to be near the people who died to pray for them”, he said, repeating the slogan, “We’re not afraid”.
Following recent ISIS threats, the country, which had been attacked by Islamist militants several times in the past, had been on high alert.
Jakarta police spokesperson Commissioner Mohammad Iqbal told reporters Saturday that all five – aged 25 to 42-years old – had been identified through their fingerprints. Two dozen other people were wounded – three foreigners, six police officers and the rest Indonesian civilians.
Islamic State said in its claim of responsibility that “a group of soldiers of the caliphate in Indonesia targeted a gathering from the crusader alliance that fights the Islamic State in Jakarta”.
Authorities believe there are at least 1000 Islamic State sympathisers in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population.
Police have said they suspect he is now in Raqqah in Syria’s south.
But they said the low death toll on Thursday pointed to the involvement of poorly trained local militants whose weapons were crude.
Thursday’s attack prompted a security lockdown in central Jakarta and enhanced checks all over the city of 10 million. There are concerns the attack may have an impact on Indonesia’s tourism industry, which is a major driver of the nation’s economy.
Advertisement
Indonesian police have explicitly likened the attack to the far bloodier violence in November in Paris that left 130 people dead and offered sobering proof to a horrified world of the reach and fanatical determination of IS jihadists.
