Scenewas similar to Paris, butwith far fewer deaths
Capital city Jakarta joins list of targets hit by terrorist group
jakarta, indonesia » The scene had echoes of the attacks in Paris: a bustling shopping area shaken by the blasts of suicide bombers and gunfire as onlookers fled in terror.
But when Thursday’s assault in central Jakarta was over, the death toll was much lower. Of the seven people killed, five were the attackers, whowere affiliated with the Islamic State terrorist group. The other two were civilians — a Canadian and an Indonesian. An additional 20 people were wounded.
Still, authorities and analysts believe the violence that left the city of 10 million on edge for hourswas a loud announcement of the Islamic State’s presence in theworld’s largest Muslimmajority nation.
Supporters of the Islamic State circulated a claim of responsibility on social media resembling the terrorists’ previous messages.
The attackers carried handguns, grenades and homemade bombs. They struck a Starbucks cafe and a police traffic booth in what was the Indonesian capital’s highest- profile attack in six years. Authorities said they found a large, undetonated bomb and five smaller devices in a building near the cafe.
“So we think ... their plan was to attack people and followit upwith a larger explosion when more people gathered,” said Maj. Gen. Anton Charliyan, the spokesman of Indonesia’s national police. “But thank God it didn’t happen.”
Jakarta police chief Maj. Gen. Tito Karnavian said the attackers had links with the Islamic State and were part of a group led by Bahrum Naim, an Indonesian terrorist now in Syria.
“We have identified all attackers,” Charliyan said.