The Government of Indonesia has blamed Islamic State for an attack by suicide bombers and gunmen in the heart of Jakarta on Thursday.
This is the first time the radical group would show violence to the world’s most populous Muslim country.
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.
It took security forces about three hours to end the attack near a Starbucks cafe and Sarinah’s, Jakarta’s oldest department store, after a team of at least seven militants traded gunfire with police and blew themselves up.
An Indonesian and a Canadian were killed in the attack and 20 people, including a Dutchman who works for the United Nations Environment Program, were wounded.
Two of the militants were taken alive, police said.
Counter-terrorism police had rounded up about 20 people with suspected links to Islamic State, whose battle lines in Syria and Iraq have included nationals from several Asian countries.
Source: Reuters
