Paris-like attacks by IS in Muslim dominated Jakarta , Starbuck closes outlets after its café is blown up.
Jakarta : The Islamic State has left its fingerprints on another act of terror, this time in the Muslim dominated Indonesian capital Jakarta. At least two civilians were killed, senior officials said, along with five assailants. Four attackers were in custody. Last week Istanbul in Turkey was targeted.
Hours after the attack, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility, saying it was carried out by “soldiers of the caliphate” who had targeted a gathering of citizens from the “crusader coalition,” referring to the US-led alliance combating the jihadists. The IS attack will send a chill through Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia with Muslim populations, where there are fears extremists bloodied on Middle Eastern battlefields could have brought their jihad home.
Five assailants launched the attack in Jakarta copying “the pattern of the Paris attacks” as they detonated explosives and shot at people in a district packed with malls, embassies and United Nations offices. The police had received information in late November about a warning from the Islamic State militant group that “there will be a concert” in Indonesia, meaning an attack.
The assault also left an Indonesian man dead and 19 others injured. The five assailants who struck included three suicide bombers. Two of them riding motorbikes drove into a police post and blew themselves up. Four officers, it is learnt, had been left in a critical condition.
Among other things, a Starbucks café was blown up in an ostensible attempt to target westerners. Witnesses said the gunman who emerged from Starbucks began firing at bystanders, reloading his weapon as security forces moved in behind the cover of moving vehicles.
The police said there were four blasts, although eyewitnesses reported at least six. Starbucks said it was shuttering all branches in the Indonesian capital. “This store and all other Starbucks stores in Jakarta will remain closed, out of an abundance of caution, until further notice,” a statement said. The area is home to several embassies, including those of the United States, France and Spain.
