Three arrests over Jakarta terror attack

On Friday, police also named one of the five attackers who died in the assault that killed two people and wounded 24 more.

National Police Spokesman Anton Charliyan says an “ISIS flag” was found among the possessions of one of the attackers.

A news agency affiliated to Islamic State also reported the group was behind the attack.

But it was the first time IS has targeted the world’s most populous Muslim nation, and the brazenness of the attack suggested a new brand of militancy in a country where low-level strikes on police are common.

He said four of the seven killed in the attack were suspected perpetrators of the attacks and a fifth – Sugito – was a likely perpetrator although there was a chance he was not involved. “Indonesia is a strong state”.

Security forces in Indonesia conducted raids and stepped up patrols around main tourist resorts Friday, a day after militants staged coordinated attacks believed directed from Islamic State strongholds in Syria.

Police left open the possibility that one of the five alleged militants responsible for the rampage might have been a civilian caught in the cross hairs, stressing their investigation into his identity was incomplete.

Later on Friday, the Indonesian police chief revealed at least 12 suspects have been detained in connection with the latest series of attacks.

In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 photo, students light candles during a solidarity for those affected by a deadly attack in Jakarta, during a vigil in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. They unfurled posters that read, “We are not afraid”.

The attack was claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Indonesian police say they have arrested 12 people suspected of links to the Jakarta bombings.

National police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told reporters that Thursday’s attack was funded by ISIS through Bahrun Naim, a leader of a Southeast Asian unit affiliated to ISIS called Katibah Nusantara.

Seven people, including the five assailants, were killed in Thursday’s attack near the Sarinah department store in the Indonesian capital’s commercial district.

“The suspect admitted that he had planned a suicide attack in Malaysia and was awaiting instructions from a member of IS in Syria”, he said.

The attack centred on a downtown Starbucks outlet, where a suicide bomb was detonated.

“What we need to do today is strengthen capability and also sharing information with others because it is not home grown in Indonesia but it is part of a global network”, he said.

One of the attackers was spotted waving a pistol, simply walking down a busy street as the crowds scattered before him.

“We are praying for peace in Indonesia and the whole world”, he said adding “we understand the grief that the Indonesians are feeling as we in Pakistan have been facing a similar situation for over a decade”.