Thursday 14 January 2016

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Three arrested over Jakarta attack

Three arrested over Jakarta attack

Three men have been arrested in morning raids connected with the deadly terrorist attack in Jakarta.

The Densus 88 anti-terrorism unit captured the men early on Friday in a house at Depok, West Java, reports say.

One was a suspected bomb maker, another was suspected of storing explosives and weapons, and the third was accused of indoctrinating followers, Depok Police chief Dwiyono told Metro TV.

Islamic State has claimed the assault that killed two innocent people - an Indonesian and a Canadian - in central Jakarta on Thursday morning.

Five attackers - suicide bombers and gunmen - were also killed in the chaos outside a Starbucks cafe and police post on busy Jl Thamrin.

Some of the 20 people wounded have begun to leave hospital, and the scene of the attack had largely returned to normal on Friday, except for screens around the police post and Starbucks.

Citizens are planning a vigil at the site on Friday afternoon around the theme "Kami Tidak Takut" ("We are not afraid"), which is the Twitter hashtag rallying Indonesians in solidarity.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir thanked countries including Australia for their support, but said the situation was under control.

"What we need is long-term co-operation to address terrorism in various countries, not just for now but into the future," he told AAP.

"Roads have reopened, business has started again and Jakarta is back to normal."

Jakarta's police chief, Tito Karnavian, says an Indonesian militant, Bahrun Naim, masterminded the attack from the Syrian city of Raqqa, where he fights with jihadist group Islamic State.

"We are in the pursuit of other cells and actors," he said.

Bahrun had praised the Paris attacks in a blog post in November, and it's believed he was also behind a disrupted plot to attack police and New Year's Eve celebrations in Jakarta.

Those events were foiled with the help of intelligence from Australia, the US and Singapore.

In a statement late on Thursday, IS said: "A group of soldiers of the caliphate in Indonesia targeted a gathering from the crusader alliance that fights the Islamic State in Jakarta."

The attack marks the first time IS has attacked in Indonesia, which is home to the world's largest population of Muslims.

Originally published as Three arrested over Jakarta attack

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