17 killed as bomb blasts gunfire rip through Central Jakarta
Date
1/14/2016 3:55:34 AM
(MENAFN- Asia Times) A terrorist suspect with a gun at Thamrin street in Jakarta Indonesia
Security forces shot dead five of the suspected attackers and arrested four others and the area is now secure Jakarta police said.
The blasts occurred about 50 meters apart in the central business district which also houses a United Nations office.
Media said six bombs went off and a Reuters witness saw three dead people and a gunfight going on. One blast was in a Starbucks cafe (watch video clip) and security forces were later seen entering the building.
Police said they suspected a suicide bomber was responsible for at least one of the blasts and up to 14 militant gunmen were involved in the attack Metro TV reported.
“The Starbucks cafe windows are blown out. 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” said a Reuters photographer.
Indonesia has been on edge in recent weeks over the threat posed by Islamist militants and counter-terrorism police have launched a crackdown on people with suspected links to Islamic State.
“We have previously received a threat from Islamic State that Indonesia will be the spotlight” police spokesman Anton Charliyan told reporters. But he said police did not know who was resposible.
He said three policemen and three civilians had been killed.
“I saw a police officer shot right in front of me” one witness told TV One. One explosion went off in front of a shopping center called the Sarinah mall on a main avenue. Media said a police post outside the mall was blown up. Read More