The Indonesian capital of Jakarta has been rocked by multiple explosions and gunfire that have killed several people and injured dozens more in suspected suicide attacks reportedly carried out by Islamic State militants.
READ MORE: At least 7 dead as Jakarta rocked by multiple explosions, gunfire in ISIS-related attacks
14 January 2016
Over 100 people came out to the blast site to lay wreaths and signs reading: “We are not afraid.”
READ MORE: At least 7 dead as Jakarta rocked by multiple explosions, gunfire in ISIS-related attacks
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a series of gun and bomb attacks in central Jakarta earlier Thursday, Reuters reported.
Several explosive devices were planted, while four militants attacked with guns and explosive belts, the jihadist group said in a statement.
According to IS, 15 people were killed in the attack, a claim that contradicts the Indonesian government’s official death toll of seven people.
The group’s responsibility for the Jakarta attack was earlier reported by a news agency affiliated to Islamic State.
New explosions were heard in Jakarta, local Kompas TV tweeted, in the area where fatal gun and bomb attacks took place hours earlier. The channel later tweeted that the sound came from a burst truck tire, but other possible causes were being considered.
The US embassy in Jakarta said it will remain closed on Friday as a precaution following the explosions in the Indonesian capital.
"There is nothing in any act of terror that offers anything but death and destruction. And so we stand together, all of us, united in our efforts to eliminate those who choose terror," it said in a statement.
Washington condemns the bombing attack, US Secretary of State John Kerry said, stressing that such attacks “aren’t going to intimidate nation-states from protecting their citizens and continuing to provide real opportunity, education, jobs, possibilities of a future."
"There is nothing in any act of terror that offers anything but death and destruction. And so we stand together, all of us, united in our efforts to eliminate those who choose terror," Kerry said.
Islamic State has said it was behind the deadly Jakarta terror attacks, saying it targeted foreign nationals and security forces, Reuters reported, citing an Islamic State-allied news agency.
A Canadian citizen was killed in the Jakarta attack, police said, as cited by local media.
Jakarta attackers were imitating "terror actions" in Paris that killed 130 people in November, Indonesia police said.
"They imitated the terror actions in Paris ... they are likely from the [Islamic State] group," Indonesia's national police spokesman Anton Charliyan said.
Media reports suggest that the death toll in Jakarta attacks has reached 17: five terrorists, five police officers and seven civilians.
Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said a Dutch citizen has been seriously injured in the assaults.
The attack showed that "terrorism can hit everybody. Whether you are shopping in the heart of Paris, in a New York office or on vacation in Jakarta," he said.
The attack in Jakarta has ended, police said, adding that security forces are in control of the situation.
Latest on Jakarta attack
Four people suspected of involvement in the attacks have been arrested, Indonesian police said.
Three attackers have been reportedly arrested following the deadly explosions in Jakarta, local police said, as cited by TASS.
Indonesia’s Kompas TV has released a photo, allegedly showing weapons and parts of explosives used in the deadly Jakarta blast.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has condemned the attacks in the Indonesian capital.
"Our embassy is making urgent enquiries with local authorities to determine whether any Australians have been affected," she said in a statement.
A Dutch national working for the UN is reportedly also among the dead in Jakarta attacks, Al Jazeera reported.
Starbucks said that the coffee shop in the vicinity of the attack and all other Starbucks restaurants in Jakarta “will remain closed, out of an abundance of caution, until further notice.”
“Initial reports are that an explosion took place close to our store in the Skyline building near one of these police posts,” the company said in a statement.
“One customer sustained injuries and was treated on the scene; our partners [employees] are all confirmed to be safe.”
The area where the attacks took place is being secured, police spokesman Iqbal Kabid said.
"We are sterilizing the building from basement to top," he said, "We will declare the situation secure soon.”
The number of those killed in the Jakarta attacks has reached seven, including the four militants who carried them out, police said, as cited by AP.
Indonesian media reported that the foreign victim of the attacks was a Dutch national.
A screenshot from BeritaSatu TV allegedly shows a list of victims in the Jakarta blasts. According to the channel, there was one foreigner among the seven people killed.
According to the Jakarta Globe, at least seven people have been injured in the blasts.
While the Jakarta attacks are acts of terrorism, there hasn’t been any indication that Islamic State is behind them, the head of the Indonesian national intelligence agency told Reuters.
"This is definitely terrorism, but there are no indications yet that it's ISIS-related," said Sutiyoso, the intelligence chief, who uses one name, according to his official agency profile.
Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has described the Jakarta attacks as “acts of terror.”
"I have received reports some time ago about the explosion in Thamrin Street, Jakarta. We express condolences to those who became victims, but we all also condemn the attack that caused restlessness among the community,” he said.
The #PrayForJakarta hashtag is currently trending at #1 on Twitter.
The US Embassy in Jakarta has issued an emergency warning for its citizens following the attack, urging them to “avoid the area around Sari Pan Pacific Hotel and Sarinah Plaza on Jalan Sudirman Thamrin, in downtown Jakarta.”
“Media report that there may be explosions in other parts of city and that the original gunmen may have escaped,” the embassy said in its statement.
Some of the gunmen are reportedly hiding in a cinema in the city center.
"It is believed that several gunmen are currently hiding in the Jakarta Theatre, a cinema near the affected area. A lot people are believed to be still inside. Police have the building surrounded,” an Al Jazeera reporter at the scene said.
One more blast has been heard near a central building attacked by the militants in Jakarta, Reuters cited an eyewitness as saying.
The #PrayForJakarta hashtag has been recently trending on Twitter. Users around the world have been expressing solidarity with people in the Indonesian capital.
"We have previously received a threat from Islamic State that Indonesia will be in the spotlight," police spokesman Anton Charliyan said.
The death toll from the Jakarta attacks has reached six people, Reuters cited police as saying.
A video has been published on Instagram that allegedly shows one of the gunmen.
At least four people have been killed, including police officers, in Jakarta, police said, adding that Islamic State militants might have been behind the deadly blasts.
Another blast was reported in Jakarta’s western suburb of Palmerah, according to Reuters.
At least one suicide bomber set off the explosions, Reuters quoted Indonesia’s national police spokesman as saying.
Jakarta police said on Twitter that one explosion went off in front of the Sarinah shopping mall.
Reports emerged that there have been at least six blasts in Jakarta in apparent terrorist attacks involving suicide bombers. An active shooter is reported to be at the scene.
According to ABC’s Indonesia correspondent Adam Harvey, police say the attackers arrived on motorcycles and threw grenades.
Eyewitnesses at the scene have described casualties, chaotic scenes and exchanges of gunfire with police.
There are several luxury hotels, offices, and embassies, including that of France, in the blast area.
Police are asking people to stay away from windows, Jeremy Douglas, a United Nations Regional Representative, tweeted from the UN building.
Images from the sites of the explosions show that they caused damage to a checkpoint near the UN Information Center and a Starbucks coffee shop.
“The Starbucks cafe windows are blown out,” a Reuters photographer reported from the city’s center. “I see three dead people on the road. 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.”
Several explosions have been reported in the center of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, eyewitnesses told Reuters.