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Thursday 14 Jan 2016 - 12:04 Makkah mean time-4-4-1437
Image from Twitter, Christian Hubel)
Jakarta, (IINA) - At least six people were reported dead on Thursday after half a dozen explosions and heavy gunfire occurred in Indonesia's capital city Jakarta, CNBC reported.
A police spokesman pointed out to Reuters that three police officers and three civilians were killed in the attack.
According to the official Twitter account of Jakarta police, one explosion went off in front of the Sarinah Mall shopping center. Media reported that a police post outside the mall was blown up. The area is also home to luxury hotels and several embassies.
One blast was in a Starbucks cafe and security forces were later seen entering the building. Eyewitnesses said that a gunfight was ongoing in Central Jakarta while local television news said that suicide bombers may have been involved.
Metro TV quoted as Indonesian police say that around 10 to 14 gunmen were involved in the central Jakarta attacks. National police spokesman Anton Charliyan told AFP that the police fear there could be more bombs, and he warned people to stay away from the area.
A tweet from local media said that a separate explosion was heard in the western Jakarta suburb of Palmerah, but that Indonesian police said they couldn't confirm that explosion took place.
That sent Indonesian markets tumbling. The Jakarta Composite was trading around 0.2 percent down before the blasts, but then traded down as much as 1.7 percent after the explosions. The dollar-rupiah pair climbed, with the greenback fetching as much as 13,950 rupiah, compared with around 13,880 rupiah before the blasts.
Indonesia's central bank, which is due to announce a policy decision later Thursday, announced that it will proceed with its meeting even though the explosions were less than two kilometers from its office.
The country has been on high alert after authorities said that they foiled a plot by extremists to attack government officials, foreigners and others, AP reported. About 150,000 police officers and soldiers were deployed on New Year's Eve to guard churches, airports, and other public places.
According to Newser, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is on a working visit in the West Java town of Cirebon, has ordered security forces to hunt down the perpetrators and their network behind the attacks in Jakarta.
Widodo said: "I have received reports some time ago about the explosion in Thamrin Street, Jakarta. We express condolences for those who became victims, but we all also condemn the attack that caused restlessness among the community".
He issued orders to the national police chief and the minister for political and security affairs to hunt down and capture the perpetrators and those in their networks.
Widodo also noted that he will shorten his visit and returning to the capital. Later, the Indonesian national TV reported that the president assured the situation is under control, calling on people to remain calm.
He said: "The state, nation, and people should not be afraid of, and lose to, such terror acts".
AG/IINA
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