In a new development, police on Friday told an Indonesian TV channel they arrested three men on suspicion of links to the attack that killed seven people including five attackers.
The area near a Starbucks coffee shop where the attack by suicide bombers and gunmen began remained cordoned off with a highly visible police presence Friday.
Onlookers and journalists lingered nearby, with some people leaving flowers and messages of support.
A large screen atop the building that houses the Starbucks displayed messages that said "#prayforjakarta" and "Indonesia Unite."
Newspapers carried bold front-page headlines declaring the country was united in condemnation of the attack, which was the first in Indonesia since 2009.
Depok area police chief Col. Dwiyono told MetroTV that the three men were arrested at dawn at their homes in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta.
Dwiyono, who goes by one name, says the men are suspected militants and are being
MetroTV broadcast footage of the handcuffed men being escorted by police.
Risti Amelia, an accountant at a company near the Starbucks restaurant said she was "still shaking and weak" when she returned to her office Friday. Because staff remained emotional, the company decided to send workers home, she said.
Two civilians were killed in the attack that began Thursday morning, an Indonesian and a Canadian. Another 20 people were wounded.
Jakarta police chief Maj. Gen. Tito Karnavian has said the attackers had links with IS and were part of a group led by Bahrum Naim, an Indonesian militant who is now in Syria.
A message shared on Twitter late Thursday claimed the attack was the work of IS, and the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said it was circulated among pro-IS groups on other
The message said attackers carried out the Jakarta assault and had planted several bombs with timers. It differed from Indonesian police on the number of attackers, saying there were four. It said they wore suicide belts and carried light weaponry.
The statement could not be independently verified by The Associated Press, though it resembled previous claims made by the group, which controls territory in both Iraq and Syria.
Jakarta is no stranger to terrorism, with the 2009 bombings of two hotels that killed seven people and injured more than 50. The bloodiest attack by Islamic extremists in Indonesia — and in all of Asia — was in 2002, when a nightclub bombing on the resort island of Bali killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
Those and others were blamed on the al-Qaida-inspired Jemaah Islamiyah. Following a crackdown by security forces, militant strikes in recent years have been smaller and less deadly, and have targeted government authorities, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces. Terrorism experts say IS supporters in Indonesia are drawn from the remnants of Jemaah Islamiyah.
(AP)
Police officers rush to take their position as they search buildings
near the site of an explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14,
2016. Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling
shopping area of downtown Jakarta and waged gun-battles with police
Thursday, leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched in
terror from high-rise windows.
A police officer gives a hand signal to a squad mate as they search a
building near the site of an explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday,
Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a
bustling shopping area of downtown Jakarta and waged gun-battles with
police Thursday, leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched
in terror from high-rise windows.
A police officer gestures at reporters as they search buildings near the
site where an explosion went off for possible suspects in Jakarta,
Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off explosions at a
Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping area of downtown Jakarta and waged
gun-battles with police Thursday, leaving bodies in the streets as
office workers watched in terror from high-rise windows.
A police officer gestures at reporters as they search buildings near the
site of an explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016.
Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping
area of downtown Jakarta and waged gun-battles with police Thursday,
leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched in terror from
high-rise windows.
A police armored vehicle is parked outside a Starbucks Cafe near where
an explosion went off in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016.
Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping
area of downtown Jakarta and waged gun-battles with police Thursday,
leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched in terror from
high-rise windows.
Police officers examine debris at the site where an explosion went off
in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off
explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping area of downtown
Jakarta and waged gun-battles with police Thursday, leaving bodies in
the streets as office workers watched in terror from high-rise windows.
Members of the police bomb squad put on their protective gear prior to
examining the site where an explosion went off in Jakarta, Indonesia
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks
cafe in a bustling shopping area of downtown Jakarta and waged
gun-battles with police Thursday, leaving bodies in the streets as
office workers watched in terror from high-rise windows.
A police armored vehicle is parked outside a Starbucks cafe after an
explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set
off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping area in
Indonesia's capital and waged gunbattles with police Thursday, leaving
bodies in the streets as office workers watched in terror from high-rise
buildings.
Police officers push back curious onlookers from the spot near a police
post where an explosion went off in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan.
14, 2016. Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling
shopping area in Indonesia's capital and waged gunbattles with police
Thursday, leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched in
terror from high-rise buildings.
People, including unarmed police officers, flee from the scene after a
gun battle broke out following an explosion in Jakarta, Indonesia
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off bombs and exchanged gunfire
outside a Starbucks cafe in Indonesia's capital in a brazen assault
Thursday that police said "imitated" the recent Paris attacks.
A plainclothes police officer aims his gun at attackers during a gun
battle following explosions in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14,
2016. Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling
shopping area in Indonesia's capital and waged gunbattles with police
Thursday, leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched in
terror from high-rise buildings.
Indonesians lay flowers near the police post where an attack took place
in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off bombs
and exchanged gunfire outside the cafe in Indonesia's capital in a
brazen assault Thursday that police said "imitated" the recent Paris
attacks.
An electronic screen above the Starbucks cafe where an attack took place
displays the message "Pray for Jakarta" showing support for the city in
Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off bombs
and exchanged gunfire outside the cafe in Indonesia's capital in a
brazen assault Thursday that police said "imitated" the recent Paris
attacks.
An electronic screen above the Starbucks cafe where an attack took place
displays the message "Pray for Jakarta" showing support for the city in
Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off bombs
and exchanged gunfire outside the cafe in Indonesia's capital in a
brazen assault Thursday that police said "imitated" the recent Paris
attacks.
An electronic screen above the Starbucks cafe where an attack took place
displays the message "Pray for Jakarta" showing support for the city in
Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off bombs
and exchanged gunfire outside the cafe in Indonesia's capital in a
brazen assault Thursday that police said "imitated" the recent Paris
attacks.