The U.N. Environment Programme said a Dutch staff member is among the injured.
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Police said five attackers and two civilians were killed, while 10 people were injured in the brazen attacks, which followed several warnings in recent weeks by police that Islamic militants were planning something big.
The scene of the deadly attack, in Jakarta’s downtown business area, has been sealed off with metal fences.
The Sarinah intersection is pictured after a blast that occurred around 11 a.m. on Thursday in this photo released by the Jakarta Traffic Police.
“Soon afterwards, two men riding… motorbikes, ran into a police post and blew themselves up”, he said, adding that four officers had been left in a critical condition.
MetroTV broadcast footage of the handcuffed men being escorted by police.
“Today’s attack shows an utter disregard for the right to life”.
Gen. Anton Charliyan said security is focused on anticipating attacks in vulnerable regions, including Jakarta.
Price says that the nation’s thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims. It differed from Indonesian police on the number of attackers, saying there were four.
“A large LCD screen on top of the building that houses the attacked Starbucks was broadcasting messages that said “#prayforjakarta” and “Indonesia Unite”.
It was the first major attack in Jakarta since the 2009 simultaneous attacks on the J.W. Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels, which left seven people dead. “We are not afraid”. “But thank God it didn’t happen”.
“There has been an expectation that an attack would take place in our part of the world at some time”, she said. It said they wore suicide belts and carried light weaponry.
Tri Seranto, a bank security guard, told The Associated Press he saw at least five attackers, including three who triggered explosions at the Starbucks.
Islamic State suicide bombers and gunmen struck the capital of Muslim-majority Indonesia Thursday, killing a Westerner and blowing up a Starbucks in an assault police said bore the hallmarks of the Paris attacks.
The top diplomats of Saudi Arabia and the United States, who are meeting in London amid tensions between the kingdom and Iran, have condemned the Jakarta attack.
Speaking to reporters at the same hotel in London, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry echoed him. “The state, the nation and the people should not be afraid of, and be defeated by, such terror acts”.
Jakarta police chief Tito Karnavian said bombs containing screws and nails were hurled at police during the shootout, and they found six bombs planted in the area after the hours-long assault ended.
“A Dutch national has been severely injured and is now undergoing surgery at a hospital in Jakarta”, Angele Samura, the security adviser for the Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta, told CNN.
An electronic screen above the Starbucks cafe where an attack took place displays the message “Pray for Jakarta” showing support for the city in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. “We stand by in solidarity with our Indonesian brothers and sisters in this time of tragedy”, The Department of Foreign Affairs said. “And one fears that this is potentially becoming the new normal where ISIS affiliates carry out attacks independently from the leadership based in Syria”.
The news agency has been used as a source for the IS militants in the past. Backers of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has also expressed his sympathy over the Jakarta attacks overnight.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo says the situation is now under control.
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Restituto Padilla however said no threats have been monitored in the Philippines.
