In a Facebook post, the National Police said there were seven attackers, three of whom had been shot dead and four “incapacitated and arrested”.
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In a statement released online, ISIS said the attack, which was centered on Thamrin Street, a major shopping and business district, was carried out by “soldiers of the Caliphate”.
“These acts of terror are not going to intimidate nation-states from protecting their citizens and continuing to provide real opportunity, education, jobs, possibilities of a future”, he said. Jakarta Police chief Tito Karnavian believed Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian terrorist, had been “planning this for a while”.
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo says in a statement on national TV the situation is under control and is calling on people to remain calm.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the “reprehensible” terror attack in Jakarta and said his thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones.
Jokowi says: “The state, nation and people should not be afraid of, and lose to, such terror acts”.
Tri said he was out on the street when he saw the three men entering Starbucks.
There were unconfirmed media reports of explosions in other parts of Jakarta.
Several explosions went off and gunfire broke out in the centre of the Indonesian capital on Thursday and police said they suspected a suicide bomber was responsible for at least one the blasts.
Authorities also said they found a large, undetonated bomb and five smaller devices in a building near the Starbucks café after the attack.
“Some perpetrators used grenades”, he said.
Canada condemns deadly attacks in Jakarta.
Authorities responded quickly after the incident began, arriving in black armored cars, and deploying sniper teams and helicopters around the area.
The attack has been likened to the timed attacks in Paris where ISIS struck several locations at the same time killing more than 100 people.
The US based SITE Intelligence Group said it also circulated among pro-Islamic State groups on the message app Telegram.
The fact that the attack took place downtown near a Starbucks cafe and Sarinah’s, an older mall more popular with locals than tourists, killing seven people including five attackers, has spread fear in this city of almost 10 million people.
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Splinter cells of Jemaah Islamiyah, the now crushed Southeast Asian terrorist group that was linked to Al Qaeda, have targeted the police in recent years.
