Two people were killed and 24 others injured in a series of explosions in the middle of a busy central Jakarta commercial hub.
The bomb was detonated near a Starbucks on Thamrin Street – a hub for entertainment, shopping and Western chain restaurant and stores.
Jakarta’s Police Chief Tito Karnavian placed the blame on a man named Bahrun Naim who is believed to have plotted the attack himself.
One foreigner and one Indonesia make up the dead while those injured are believed to be mostly Indonesian and one visitor.
Jakarta is rocked by a series of explosions and gunfire in the city center https://t.co/VefL4RYsae pic.twitter.com/YemH3QQFZa
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 14, 2016
Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, said she has reached out to locally-based staff to confirm no Australians were affected by the attack.
“I’ve spoken to our ambassador and confirmed that all Australian and locally-based staff attached to the embassy are safe, as are their families.”
She continued, saying the Australian Government condemns the attacks in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, travel advice for Indonesia has been updated to warn Australians of the dangers of visiting the area of the Sarinah Mall on JL Thamrin in Central Jakarta.
The overall threat level hasn’t changed, with the Department of Foreign Affairs maintaining its ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ for Indonesia overall.
The attack in the Southeast Asian country follows Tuesday’s suicide attack in Istanbul, Turkey, which killed 10 German tourists and injured 15 others. Read on
Local tour operators say despite the deadly incident, they’ve received very few cancellations for upcoming trips to the European country.
