“The biggest counter-terrorism force wasn’t really the police or the counter-terrorism units… it was Indonesian people and communities that outed these guys wherever they went”.
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In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 photo, students light candles during a solidarity for those affected by a deadly attack in Jakarta, during a vigil in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. “We express condolences for those who became victims, but we all also condemn the attack that caused restlessness among the community”.
At least three explosions rocked downtown Jakarta Thursday midmorning followed by more than two hours of gunbattles. Foreign ambassadors also joined the event.
One man held up a placard that said “After a dark night, there will be a bright sunlight in the morning, don’t be afraid God is with us”.
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Nevertheless, it was the first time the radical group has targeted the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, and the brazenness of the attack suggested a new brand of militancy in a country more used to low-level strikes on police.
National police spokesman Anton Charliyan said a black Islamic State (IS) flag was found with one of the Jakarta attackers and investigators believed they had established their identities.
On Friday, the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center said it had uncovered a flow of funds from the Middle East to Indonesia which it alleged had been utilized to finance acts of terror. “The Starbucks cafe windows are blown out”. He said he later saw one policeman dead and three seriously injured. Police responded in force within minutes.
He says police and broadcasting announcements for people to stay away from windows. As people poured out of the cafe, two waiting gunmen opened fire on them.
The area near a Starbucks coffee shop where the attack by suicide bombers and gunmen began remained cordoned off with a highly visible police presence Friday.
The city centre’s notoriously jammed roads were largely deserted. The message said attackers carried out the Jakarta assault and had planted several bombs with timers.
Attorney-General George Brandis said the Australian Government had offered Indonesia law enforcement and intelligence assistance.
Perth man Barry Kissane was having a meeting in the high rise building above Starbucks, when he heard the Jakarta attacks start outside. The country had been on edge for weeks over the threat posed by Islamist militants. Two civilians, including a Canadian, and a police officer were also killed while another 20 were wounded.
Many experts believe, however, that Indonesia, a vibrant democracy where the vast majority of Muslims practise a moderate form of Islam, is not likely to be tipped into a cauldron of radicalism.
Karnavian confirmed that Islamic State was responsible and named an Indonesian militant, Bahrun Naim, as the mastermind.
“Surely, there were [more] people behind the attack”.
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On Tuesday, a Syrian suicide bomber killed 10 German tourists in Istanbul. Speaking in London, US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned Thursday’s attack. “And so we stand together, all of us, united in our efforts to eliminate those who choose terror”, he said.
