At Least 7 Dead In Jakarta Attacks, ISIS Claim Responsibility

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At least seven people have been killed in a series of coordinated bomb and gun attacks in the the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

A series of explosions went off in central Jakarta, in a terrorist attack involving suicide bombers

The blasts were centred around Thamrin Street, a major shopping and business district close to foreign embassies and the United Nations offices.

The attackers targeted a busy shopping area in downtown Jakarta
The attackers targeted a busy shopping area in downtown Jakarta

ISIS have claimed responsibility saying it was targeting foreign nationals and security forces according to a news agency linked to the group.

Police say the situation is now under control, with five suspected attackers among those killed.

Indonesian police say they have regained control after several attackers launched a gun and bomb attack on the city.
Indonesian police say they have regained control after several attackers launched a gun and bomb attack on the city.

Al Jazeera reports:

At least seven people, including five attackers, were killed in the explosions and gun battle between police and the attackers in the central business district of the city.

Tito Karnavian, the Jakarta police chief, said ISIL was “definitely” behind the attack.

Karnavian told Reuters news agency that Indonesian ISIL fighter Bahrun Naim, who is believed to be in Syria, was “planning this for a while. He is behind this attack.”

Earlier, police told to Al Jazeera that ISIL group had made specific threats ahead of Thursday’s attacks.

Six blasts occurred about 50 metres apart in the central business district, which also houses a United Nations office.

At least 20 people have been injured in the security operations at the Sarinah shopping complex on Thamrin Street. Police said the attack has ended and that security forces were in control of the area.

There were conflicting reports on the number of casualties as the police battled the fighters.

Earlier, tweets from the account of Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the UN office on Drugs and Crime for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, described a bomb and “serious” exchanges of gunfire on the street outside his office.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Jakarta, said a police post was destroyed in a grenade blast and that sporadic gunfire was heard in the downtown area of the capital.

“Six gunmen on motorbikes entered the downtown area carrying long rifles, shooting into the crowd, with some carrying explosives,” Vaessen said. “One of the gunman shot a police officer from close range.”

Some gunmen on motorbikes reportedly escaped, police sources told Al Jazeera.

“Witnesses told Al Jazeera that they found nails on the streets near the affected area, indicating that the fragments came from the explosives used in the attacks,” Vaessen said.

The attacks caused panic and prompted a security lockdown and enhanced checks in several areas in the city of 10 million.

“The police are still investigating so we don’t know how and why the attack happened. There were at least six explosions, and so far it looks like the police was the target,” our correspondent said.

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