ISIS issued cryptic warning ahead of Jakarta attacks

At least seven people have been killed – including four militants – after a series of explosions and gunfire in Jakarta.

(CNN)Several explosions have been heard in the center of Jakarta, media reports say, and at least one location police engaged gunmen in a firefight.

President Widodo was outside Jakarta when the attack unfolded but was cutting short his trip to return to the sprawling capital of more than 10 million people by helicopter.

It “sounds like the Paris attack to me”, Baer said.

The main thrust of the attack was on an office block and it began with a blast outside a Starbucks cafe on its ground floor. “We then saw that the Starbucks downstairs was destroyed too”.

“I was very panicked and I was crying”.

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The UN regional representative in the Indonesian capital, Jeremy Douglas, is tweeting that a massive explosion in front of the UN office has been followed by at six other blasts and gunfire.

Therefore, “we have given warning too”, of the possible strikes, and conducted arrests of several militants in many places in the country, said Anton. And three minutes later: “Apparent #suicidebomber literally 100m from the office and my hotel”.

Seven people were reported dead in Indonesian terror attacks after explosions rocked downtown Jakarta late Thursday morning.

He said three civilians and three officers were killed. A number of United Nations agencies are also housed nearby. An Algerian man was among the 10 injured, he said.

The Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, has ordered security forces to hunt down the perpetrators and their network behind the attacks in Jakarta.

The company said initial reports suggest an explosion took place close to a store in the Skyline building, near a police post. “We express condolence to those who became victims, but we all also condemn the attack that caused restless among the community”.

Indonesia’s central bank is located in the same area, and a spokesman for the bank said a policy meeting was going ahead and a decision on interest rates would be announced as planned later in the day.

Separately, police said four suspected attackers had been killed, including two of them who had blown themselves up. It is not confirmed if the dead civilians are the gunmen.

On Tuesday, the jailed radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir appealed to an Indonesia court to have his conviction for funding a terror training camp overturned, arguing that his support for the camp was an act of worship.

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation but by and large is secular, although in recent years the threat of radicalism has remained high as small networks of militants are still thought to be operating in the country.