“In the past several years, militants have carried out a number of small-arm attacks targeting the police but today’s is notable for the targeting of an worldwide commercial brand, indicating increased risk of attacks against such targets”, he said.
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Five extremists launched the assault that also left an Indonesian man dead and 19 other people injured, detonating explosives and shooting at people in a district packed with malls, embassies and United Nations offices.
Jakarta police state that they received information in late November indicating that “there will be a concert” in Indonesia, meaning there would be an attack, according to a report from the New York Times.
Gen. Anton Charliyan said: “They imitated the terror actions in Paris… they are likely from the (Islamic State) group”. “We have taken control”, Jakarta police spokesman Col. Muhammad Iqbal said.
“So we think… their plan was to attack people and follow it up with a larger explosion when more people gathered”, said Maj.
At about the same time two other suicide bombers attacked a nearby traffic police booth, killing themselves and an Indonesian man.
Speaking about the “act of terror” Indonesian President Joko Widodo, said: “We all are grieving for the fallen victims of this incident, but we also condemn the act that has disturbed the security and peace and spread terror among our people”.
As people poured out of the cafe, two waiting gunmen opened fire on them. The neighborhood is home to many luxury hotels, high-rise buildings and diplomatic offices, including the French Embassy. It appears they are pinned down by armed police officers.
IS officially claimed responsibility later on Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported.
Starbucks says all stores in Jakarta will remain closed, out of an abundance of caution, until further notice.
The windows of the cafe had been blown out. Terrorists haven’t had the capacity to mount any major attacks since 2009, when suicide bombers attacked the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.
The 20 injured have been rushed into several hospitals in the city, he said.
“We believe there are no more attackers around Sarinah”.
Starbucks across Jakarta will remain shut, the coffee chain confirmed.
“I was shocked when I saw two men with handguns shoot a foreigner”, Purwanto said.
National Police spokesman Insp. Before that, a bombing in a nightclub on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
“This is an indication that he has been learning from the Paris attacks and he has studied the strategy”, he said.
He said a gunfight between the attackers and police took place in a cinema that is in the same building as a Starbucks cafe.
“We must not be afraid, we must not be defeated by an act of terror like this”, he said in televised comments.
Police have been largely successful in destroying domestic militant cells since then, but officials have more recently been worrying about a resurgence inspired by groups such as Islamic State and Indonesians who return after fighting with the group.
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In wake of the attacks, the Foreign Office issued a “high terrorism threat” alert for those planning on travelling to the country.
