Blasts rock Jakarta
Two killed as explosions go off near bus station in Indonesian capital.
Jakarta: A suspected suicide bombing near a bus terminal in Indonesia’s capital killed a policeman and injured four other officers, police said.
Vice- National Police Chief Syafruddin said an initial investigation showed that the suspected suicide bomber also died in the blast.
“Tonight, to Indonesian citizens and all of us who are here at the scene, I express very deep concern. A bomb explosion has occurred and for now it is believed to have been a suicide bombing,” he said.
He said the officers had been guarding a parade by a group of local people.
The explosion occurred in a parking lot next to the bus terminal in the Kampung Melayu area of eastern Jakarta.
The injury toll was unclear, with broadcaster TV One reporting that two civilians including a female student had been wounded.
A police bomb squad was investigating the explosion.
TV channels showed people helping a victim lying on the ground and three policemen carrying another victim away from the scene.
An eyewitness, Sultan Muhammad Firdaus, told TV station Kompas TV he heard two explosions about 10 minutes apart.
“The explosions were quite loud, I could hear them clearly,” he said. He added he thought two police officers were injured in the blast.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, generally follows a moderate form of the faith.
It has long struggled with Islamic militancy and hundreds of radicals from the SouthEast Asian state have flocked to fight with IS, sparking fears that weakened extremist outfits could get a new lease of life. — Agencies