Jakarta attacks: seven dead in multiple attacks linked to Islamic State

January 14, 2016 – 10:33PM

Explosions and gunfire have been reported in the Indonesian capital on Thursday.

Jakarta: Seven people have been killed in a terrorist attack in central Jakarta, including five who are believed to be perpetrators linked to the Islamic State.

Multiple explosions hit the city’s central business district on Thursday, including two possible suicide bombings.

A further 20 people have been injured, some severely, according to Indonesian cabinet secretary Pramono Anung.
The site of a blast in central Jakarta.

The site of a blast in central Jakarta. Photo: Jewel Topsfield

Jakarta Police chief Tito Karnavian said the suicide bomber blew himself up outside Starbucks.
„As people started to run out of Starbucks, two men who were waiting outside started shooting,”

He said one foreigner died and one is still injured. It is believed one of the victims is Canadian.
Indonesian soldiers stand guard in Central Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday.

Indonesian soldiers stand guard in Central Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday. Photo: AP

Dutch United Nations worker Johan Kieft was confirmed by his colleagues to be „badly injured” after he was shot in the side.

Mr Kieft, the head of a Green Economy Unit, was in Starbucks during the explosions.

The police chief said the two men attacked a police posting on nearby Thamrin Road, one of Jakarta’s main thoroughfares.
An unidentified man with a gun and a backpack walks on Thamrin Street as people run in the background near Sarinah shopping mall in Jakarta.

An unidentified man with a gun and a backpack walks on Thamrin Street as people run in the background near Sarinah shopping mall in Jakarta. Photo: AP

Police found five hand grenades and an explosive device. He said five of the terrorists were killed.

„By 3pm the location was cleared,” he said.

Mr Karnavian said the terrorist attack was linked to ISIS.
A police officer gives a hand signal to a squad mate as they search a building near the site of an explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday.

A police officer gives a hand signal to a squad mate as they search a building near the site of an explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday. Photo: AP

„They changed strategy from just attacking Syria to outside places as well,” he said. „Like the attack in Paris, Asia is also a target

National police spokesman Anton Charliyan said on Thursday night that the terrorists were „from the ISIS group”

„They claimed Indonesia will be in the world headlines,” he said. ” They said ‘they will have a concert'”.

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