ISIS Claims Credit for ‘Paris-Style’ Jakarta Attack

Seven people – two civilians and five attackers – died in the bomb and gun attacks in an area of the capital frequented by foreigners.

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the heart of Indonesia’s capital on Thursday and the assault was claimed by the Islamic State (IS), the first time the radical group has targeted the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

It released a statement online saying it had been carried out by “soldiers of the Caliphate”, targeting “citizens of the Crusader coalition” against the group.

Indonesian media reported that several arrests were made following the attacks, although it was not clear if the suspects were directly linked to the attack in Jakarta on Thursday.

National police spokesman Anton Charliyan has told reporters a black ISIL flag was found with one of the Jakarta attackers and police believe they have established their identities.

Bahrun Naim is reportedly the South-East Asia leader of the network, who is believed to be in Syria, and had been hugely influenced by the Paris attacks previous year.

Al Jazeera’s Sohail Rahman, reporting from Jakarta, said many circumstances surrounding the attacks on Thursday remained unclear.

Police said four of the attackers and three others were killed in the brazen attacks, which came after several warnings in recent weeks by the police that Islamic militants were planning something big.

“We know that [ISIS] has the desire to declare a province in this region and there are groups in this region… that have pledged allegiance to [ISIS]”, he said.

“This is an indication that he has been learning from the Paris attacks and he has studied the strategy”, he said. Onlookers and journalists lingered, with some people leaving flowers and messages of support. “This is not a suicide bomb, based on witness account at the police post it was something that was thrown, whether it was a grenade or a bomb we still haven’t been able to confirm”.

Fears have grown in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia with Muslim populations that a wave of extremist violence born in Syria could return to home shores.

“A large screen atop the building that houses the Starbucks displayed messages that said “#prayforjakarta” and “Indonesia Unite”.

“India unequivocally opposes terrorism in all its forms and expresses solidarity with the Government and the people of Indonesia”, it added.

“There was gunfire between police officers and the two attackers, like in a movie… and suddenly the two blew themselves up”, he said.

Naim was arrested in November 2010 and was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for possession of illegal ammunition but the court said there was not enough evidence for terror charges.

Heavily armed police soon swarmed the scene, firing on the militants and looking for other attackers.

“We have identified all attackers”, Charliyan said.

Police have been largely successful in destroying domestic militant cells since then, but officials have more recently been worrying about a resurgence inspired by Islamic State.