The news agency has been used as a source for the IS militants in the past.
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No group has yet claimed responsibility for an incident which appears to harbour similarities with the coordinated nature of the November attacks on Paris.
The Jakarta composite was trading down 1.72 percent following the attacks.
He said he works out of Bangkok, but was in Jakarta to help craft a counter-terrorism strategy with government officials. The attacks killed 23 people, including the three bombers. It differed from Indonesian police on the number of attackers, saying there were four.
On Jan. 3, the US embassy in Jakarta warned Americans of “a potential threat” against U.S.-associated hotels and banks in Surabaya, about 500 miles east of Jakarta on the island of Java.
Reports said at least six explosions were heard which, according to Indonesian police, left three civilians and three police officers dead.
It is not yet clear what group was behind the assault, which President Joko Widodo called an “act of terror”.
Thursday’s attack prompted a security lockdown in central Jakarta and enhanced checks all over the crowded city of 10 million.
Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs contacted his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi shortly after the attack to offer the Netherlands’ condolences and aid should Indonesia need it. “Whether you are shopping in the heart of Paris, in a NY office or on vacation in Jakarta”.
Two men then took hostages at the Starbucks, an Algerian and a Dutch citizen, and shot the Dutch national dead.
The ministry did not release the man’s identity.
“We have previously received a threat from Islamic State that Indonesia will be the spotlight”, police spokesman Anton Charliyan told reporters.
Five suspected perpetrators of Thursday’s attack were among those killed, officials said.
A police armored vehicle is parked outside a Starbucks cafe near where an explosion went off in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday.
Five attackers also died, police said. “We have taken control”.
Last month, anti-terror police arrested nine suspected militants and said they had planned attacks “to attract global news coverage of their existence here”.
With the investigation still going on, several things were unclear: Exactly how many gunmen were involved, and how many locations they struck.
The Jakarta Post reports that police were also seen entering the McDonald’s restaurant at the Sarinah building, with gunshots still ringing out in the area. “There has been a lull in the shooting but someone is on the roof of the building and police are aiming their guns at him”, said a Reuters photographer.
Starbucks says all stores in Jakarta will remain closed, out of an abundance of caution, until further notice.
The explosion occurred after about 25 anti-terror squad police stormed the cafe.
The Associated Press reported that four attackers were among those killed.
“Our nation and our people should not be afraid, we will not be defeated by these acts of terror, I hope the public stay calm”, he told local broadcaster MetroTV.
Onlookers and local media recorded their glimpses of the violence that unfolded in downtown Jakarta on January 14.
Witnesses saw at least three bodies sprawled on the sidewalk after the fighting ended.
Several hours after the attacks began, the witness heard more gunfire and at least one more explosion.
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Two ambulances also drove to the area, and were standing by.
