“National police are on their highest alert, especially in areas considered targets of terror, like police stations, government offices, and embassies, with army backup”.
Advertisement
Gunshots were heard after the midmorning explosion in front of the Sarinah shopping mall and a police station.
Indonesia’s counterterrorism effort has had significant success over several years in degrading the capabilities of domestic militants to launch deadly attacks, creating a sense that the battle against Islamic militants was largely won. The attackers were killed subsequently, either by their suicide vests or by police.
The U.S. Embassy said there are no Americans among the victims. Gen. Anton Charliyan said.
The attacks were immediately followed by massive police deployment, with authorities concerned that many more terrorists were still at large even after the suicide attacks. It is not clear why the bombs did not go off.
The country had been on edge for weeks over the threat posed by Islamist militants, and counter-terrorism police had rounded up about 20 people with suspected links to Islamic State.
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. “He hopes the perpetrators of today’s attacks will be swiftly brought to justice”. “Jakarta’s citizens, including myself, are now scared to go to shopping malls and other public places”.
Local police say the situation is now under control. “Hopefully this won’t happen again”, he said.
A message shared on Twitter late on Thursday claimed the attack was the work of IS, and the US-based SITE Intelligence Group said it was circulated among pro-IS groups on other media. 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.
“It’s definitely a symptom of the losses they’ve been suffering, like in [the Iraqi city of] Ramadi”, a USA official told VOA on condition of anonymity.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has ruled out an increased Australian military presence in the Middle East to fight Islamic State, despite yesterday’s deadly terrorist attacks in Jakarta.
Just seven people were killed despite multiple blasts and a gunfight, and five of them were the attackers themselves, but the brazenness of their siege suggested a new brand of militancy in a country where low-level strikes on police are common.
Regional authorities were quick to condemn the attacks and rallied to enforce security measures.
US Secretary of State John Kerry echoed him. “We stand together, all of us, united in our efforts to eliminate those who choose terror”, Kerry told reporters in London.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has also condemned the bomb attacks and series of shooting in the Indonesian capital, with Secretary-General Iyad Ameen Madani sending his “heartfelt condolence to the families of the victims of the attack and his wishes for the fast recovery of the injured”.
“The president has said the nation and the people should not be scared and should not be defeated by acts of terror”, said palace spokesman Ari Dwipayana.
People in Jakarta are tweeting the hashtag #KamiTidakTakut – which translates as “we are not afraid”.
Jakarta residents were shaken by Thursday’s events but refused to be cowed.
Jakarta has always been warning about the threat of recruitment by Islamic State and other extremist groups.
Advertisement
A few hundred Indonesians are known to have traveled to Syria to join the IS.
