The IS group is blamed for Thursday’s tragedy at the capital, according to Jakarta Police Inspector General Chief Tito Karnavian.
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In a confirmation email received Friday evening, a department spokesperson told the Star the Privacy Act prevents further information from being shared at this time.
The three were believed to be Islamic State supporters, but not directly connected to the Jakarta attack, police said. FAST RESPONSE Counterterrorism forces apparently did not anticipate Thursday’s attack, though authorities announced last month that they knew of a credible threat.
“Now we are sweeping in and outside Java, because we have captured several members of their group, and have identified them”, national police spokesperson Anton Charliyan said.
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion has condemned the attacks and vowed to double down on efforts to fight radicalization.
Indonesia suffered several large bomb attacks by Islamic radicals between 2000 and 2009, but a subsequent security crackdown weakened extremist networks, and there had been no major attacks since 2009.
Harsono said that the mood on the ground was a growing determination to show the terrorists, whether homegrown or Syrian-trained, that their violent campaign would not deter the people and reap its goal of spreading terror in Indonesia.
Newspapers carried bold front-page headlines declaring the country was united in condemnation of the attack, which was the first in Indonesia since 2009.
Attackers set off bombs and exchanged gunfire outside a Starbucks cafe in Indonesia’s capital in a brazen assault Thursday that police said “imitated” the recent Paris attacks.
Naim has formed a Southeast Asian branch of ISIS named Katibah al Nusantara, Indonesia authorities said.
Indonesian police have explicitly likened the attack to the jihadist violence in November in Paris that left 130 people dead, and presented sobering proof to a horrified world of the reach and fanatical determination of IS adherents.
Police have been largely successful in destroying domestic militant cells since then, but officials have more recently been worrying about a resurgence inspired by Islamic State.
Karnavian said Naim also has influence in radical groups located in Java and Sulawesi, including the Indonesian East Mujahideen, reported to be led by the country’s most wanted terrorist, Abu Wardah Santoso.
“Indonesia loves peace”: Couple at #JakartaBlasts memorial says Indonesians have to show courage and that they can co-exist peacefully as a community, so as not to embolden terrorists.
The suicide bombing and gunfight took place on Jl Thamrin, between a Starbucks coffee shop and a police post in the middle of a busy intersection.
Onlookers and journalists lingered nearby, with some people leaving flowers and messages of support.
A day after the attack, wreaths and tributes expressing condolences to the victims, and defiance against those who attacked, were stacked against the nearby police outpost.
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Jokowi said: “The most important thing, thank God, is that yesterday, in a very short time – three to four hours – the situation was brought under control”.
