Canadian killed in Jakarta attacks
Bomber, gunmen affiliated with Islamic State
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A Canadian man was killed in Indonesia’s capital Thursday when gunmen launched a series of co-ordinated attacks that police said were linked to the Islamic State group.
Jakarta police chief Maj.-Gen. Tito Karnavian told a news conference that the first attack — a suicide bombing — happened at a Starbucks, causing customers to run outside, where two gunmen opened fire, killing the Canadian and wounding an Indonesian bystander.
At about the same time, two other suicide bombers attacked a nearby traffic police booth, killing themselves and an Indonesian man.
Moments later, Karnavian said, a group of policemen was attacked by two remaining gunmen, using homemade bombs. This led to a 15-minute gunfight, he said.
All five gunmen were killed and 20 people were wounded in the attacks, police said.
Karnavian said the attackers had links with Bahrum Naim, an Indonesian militant who is now in Syria.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was working with Indonesian authorities to confirm the reports of a Canadian victim.
“The hearts of Canada and Canadians go out to the people of Indonesia and all the families and victims of these terrible attacks,” Trudeau said at an appearance in Kitchener, Ont.
“We’re, of course, going to be supporting the government in anything it needs from Canada through this difficult time.”
The federal government updated its travel advisory for Jakarta in the aftermath of the attacks, advising Canadians to remain vigilant, follow the advice of local authorities and avoid the city’s downtown area.
Islamic State group backers have circulated a claim of responsibility on Twitter for the attack and Indonesian police said the attackers were affiliated with the Islamic State group.
Authorities said they found a large, undetonated bomb and five smaller devices in a building near the Starbucks.
“So we think … their plan was to attack people and follow it up with 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.”
“We have identified all attackers,” Charliyan said. “We can say that the attackers were affiliated with the ISIS group,” he added, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.
The claim was shared on Twitter late Thursday, and the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said it also was circulated among pro-IS groups on other media.
The message said attackers carried out the Jakarta assault and had planted several bombs with timers. It differed from Indonesian police on the number of attackers, saying there were four. It said they wore suicide belts and carried light weaponry.
In a development today, police told an Indonesian TV channel they have arrested three men on suspicion of links to the attacks.
Jakarta is no stranger to terrorism, with the 2009 bombings of two hotels that killed seven people and injured more than 50.
The bloodiest attack by Islamic extremists in Indonesia — and in all of Asia — was in 2002, when a nightclub bombing on the resort island of Bali killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. Those and others were blamed on the al-Qaidainspired Jemaah Islamiyah. Following a crackdown by security forces, militant strikes in recent years have been smaller and less deadly, and have targeted government authorities, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces.