Jakartans express defiance and return to work after terror attacks
By JEWEL TOPSFIELD
A deliberate attack on foreigners in Jakarta would mark the first such targeted terror attacks on Indonesian soil since 2009 and a clear instruction from Islamic State to take revenge on Coalition forces, a leading terror analyst has warned.
Terrorism expert Sidney Jones said if Starbucks had been deliberately targeted it would be the first targeting of foreigners since the 2009 attacks on the Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels.
"That would reflect IS instructions to basically take revenge on Coalition forces," she said.
Ms Jones said she was sure the terrorists had planned an attack on a larger scale than the "incompetent mess" that took place.
Seven people were killed in the attacks, including two civilians - an Indonesian and a Canadian - and five terrorists.
Indonesian National Police Chief Badrodin Haiti said one of the dead terrorists was Sunakim, aka Affif, who had participated in a militant training camp in Aceh.
He confirmed Bahrun Naim, who is fighting in Syria with Islamic State, was behind the attacks.
Jakarta football club supporters sing while holding letters saying "kami tidak takut" ('We are not afraid') at an anti-terrorism rally outside Starbucks where a suicide bomb was detonated.
"He arranged and financed the act but how he did it technically we don't know yet," he said.
Cirebon Police Chief Sugeng Hariyanto said an IS flag was found during a raid conducted after the attacks on Thursday night in Cirebon on the north coast of Java.
He said three men were arrested based on preliminary investigation linking them to the Sarinah attacks.
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 on Thursday.Photo: AP
"How they are linked we are still investigating," Mr Hariyanto said.
"We found cut up plastic pipes, (similar to those used in the Jakarta attack), an ISIS flag, a paper for a baiat (the ceremony of the appointment of a leader), a laptop and several other items."
At least one arrest was also made on Friday in Bekasi in West Java.
An electronic screen above the Starbucks cafe where the attack took place displays the message "#prayforjakarta". Photo: Dita Alangkara
National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) director Brigadier-General Dr Hamidin said there would have been more victims if the terrorists had been better armed, and he noted the bombs they carried were all low explosive.
"Quality and quantity wise the attack was nothing like the Marriott hotel or Bali bombings. But they chose a soft target, the public, in a crowded area and selected Starbucks to aim at foreigners," he said.
"It may not be as big as before but the effect was just as big."
John Coyne, a senior analyst at ASPI, said the attack was a strategic victory for ISIS.
"It has raised the global profile of ISIS in Asia; and it has smashed the public's illusion that Indonesian intelligence collection against terrorism is omnipresent – it can be defeated," he wrote in the Strategist.
Mr Coyne said the police-to-police relationship between POLRI (Indonesian police) and the Australian Federal Police had been in a steady state of decline for a number of years.
"To successfully respond to the Jakarta attacks, the AFP, amongst other national security agencies, will need to work with the Jakarta national security -------
Jakartans express defiance and return to work after terror attacks | smh.com.au
