Multiple bombs in Jakarta, 3 killed

Indonesian police

Indonesian police aiming at the attackers today. AFP

Indonesian police aiming at the attackers today. AFP
Indonesian police aiming at the attackers today. AFP

Several explosions went off and gunfire broke out in the centre of the Indonesian capital on Thursday and police said they suspected a suicide bomber was responsible for at least one of the blasts.

Media said six bombs went off and a Reuters witness saw three dead people and a gunfight going on.

One blast was in a Starbucks cafe and security forces were later seen entering the building.

“The Starbucks cafe windows are blown out. I see three dead people on the road. There has been a lull in the shooting but someone is on the roof of the building and police are aiming their guns at him,” said a Reuters photographer.

Indonesia has been on edge in recent weeks over the threat posed by Islamist militants and counter-terrorism police have launched a crackdown on people with suspected links to Islamic State.

According to the official Jakarta police Twitter account one explosion went off in front of a shopping centre called the Sarinah mall, on a main city avenue. Media said a police post outside the mall was blown up.

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“I saw a police officer shot right in front of me,” one witness told TV One.

Police snipers were deployed, according to media.

A U.N. building near the scene was in lock-down with no one allowed in or out, a witness said. Some other buildings in the area were evacuated.

Indonesia’s central bank is located in the same area, and a spokesman for the bank said a policy meeting would go ahead as planned later in the day.

*reuters

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