Jakarta police spokesman Colonel Muhammad Iqbal said seven people including four attackers were killed, adding that the gun battle took place in a cinema housed in the same building as the Starbucks. “We are monitoring this situation closely, and will provide additional information as it becomes available”.
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Anton said police have identified about 240 people who have returned home out of at least 800 Indonesians who have traveled to the Middle East to join Islamic State.
Seven people, including three policemen, were killed after seven blasts struck downtown Jakarta on Thursday, including a Starbucks café popular with expats.
Bank Indonesia said last month that it expects the Southeast Asian nation to have posted economic growth of 4.8 percent in 2015, which is near the bottom of its target range and would be the worst performance since 2009.
There have so far been no claims of responsibility, but one analyst likened the timed attacks to the Paris massacre, where gunmen struck several locations at the same time.
“The Starbucks cafe windows are blown out”, a Reuters photographer reported, ” I see three dead people on the road”, the photographer added.
In wake of the attacks, the Foreign Office issued a “high terrorism threat” alert for those planning on travelling to the country.
A Starbucks coffee shop was targeted by two suicide bombers and four other explosions went off in an affluent area filled with Western brands and offices in centre of the capital.
TVOne, a local television network, reported three other explosions in other parts of the city. He said one police officer was badly injured in that incident.
Indonesia has been on edge in recent weeks over the threat posed by Islamist militants and counter-terrorism police have launched a crackdown on people with suspected links to Islamic State.
He said the attack involved an unknown number of assailants with grenades and guns, at least one on a motorcycle.
An explosion was heard in the western suburb of Palmerah, according to a domestic media tweet, but police said they could not confirm a blast there.
A United Nations building near the scene was in lockdown with no one allowed in or out, a witness said.
Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population, the vast majority of whom practise a moderate form of the religion.
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Malaysian authorities have detained more than 150 suspects linked to the Islamic State group over the past two years, including some who were allegedly plotting attacks in strategic areas of Kuala Lumpur.
