Islamic State suicide bombers and gunmen struck the capital of Muslim-majority Indonesia Thursday, executing a Westerner and blowing up a Starbucks cafe in an assault that the police said bore the hallmarks of the Paris attacks.
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Video shot in the midst of the a gritty gun battle between police and ISIL-linked extremists in the heart of Jakarta appears to show the moment one of the militants blew himself up following a string of deadly bombings which killed two civilians and left 20 others wounded.
Security forces battled militants for hours, with the attacks centring on a major business and shopping district.
Last month an Indonesian anti-terror unit thwarted bomb attacks planned for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve period in Jakarta.
But the Aamaq news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group, quoted an unnamed source as saying the group carried out the violence.
Gen. Anton Charliyan told reporters a black IS flag was found in the home of one of the attackers and police believe they have established their identities.
At the same time, two militants attacked a police traffic post nearby, using what witnesses described as homemade hand grenades, killing themselves and an Indonesian man.
The two others who died in the attack included a Dutch citizen and an Indonesian national, Iqbal said.
Indonesia President Joko Widodo visited the scene of attack and vowed to catch the perpetrators.
The attackers launched their strikes at a police post and a Starbucks coffee shop some 50 meters away, in a busy shopping compound.
IS gunmen killed 130 people in a series of coordinated attacks on the French capital in November.
But in a statement, Starbucks said “initial reports are that an explosion took place close to our store in the Skyline building” It also said one customer was injured but all of its employees are confirmed to be safe.
About two hours later, another explosion was heard from a cafe near the Starbucks, about five minutes after 25 anti-terror policemen entered it. It was not clear if the explosion was a controlled detonation or a bomb.
In the immediate aftermath, witnesses said they saw at least six bodies in the area, although it is not known which of them were those of the alleged attackers.
“So we think… their plan was to attack people and follow it up with a larger explosion when more people gathered”.
At first, it was unclear what had occurred and confusion abounded, Douglas said, but subsequent small blasts sent people scurrying for cover.
Local police say the situation is now under control.
Santoso had threatened to unleash attacks in Jakarta. Counter terrorism police surrounded the building and a fresh round of heavy gunfire broke out as police stormed the building.
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Gunshots were heard after Thursday’s mid-morning explosion in front of Jakarta’s Sarinah shopping mall and a police station.
