Late Wednesday evening, two attackers set off twin bombs at a bus station in the Kampung Melayu area of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital. The explosions, detonating five minutes apart, killed three police officers. They also wounded six police officers and six civilians. However, the attack specifically targeted the police officers.
“Crime scene investigations showed that the two perpetrators were carrying pressure cooker bombs, containing nails and buckshot, inside their bags,” said a police spokesman.
Investigators also found a receipt for a pressure cooker bought on Monday in the pocket of one of the suspected bombers.
“We wanted to look for instructions at that location, or evidence…linked to the Kampung Melayu incident,” stated Martinus Sitompul, National Police spokesman.
After examining the blast site, investigators noticed that the bomb was similar to the one used by a lone ISIS-affiliated attacker, killed by police, in Bandung in February.
“There were similarities,” said Awi Setyono, Indonesia’s National Police spokesman. However, “yesterday’s [attack] had been more perfected.”
Wednesday’s bombing was ultimately the deadliest attack in Indonesia since January of 2016, when suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Jakarta. This attack killed eight people, four of them being the suicide bombers.
On Thursday Indonesia’s anti-terrorism unit raided the home of one of Wednesday’s suspected suicide bombers, a 30-year-old herbal medicine seller. During the raid, they found books of Islamic teachings and bayonets.
The unit also took a DNA sample from the mother of the second suspect, who was also 30-years-old.
Officials have now linked the bombing to the Islamic State.
“It’s highly likely it was done by pro-ISIS people,” said Jakarta security expert Sidney Jones. It’s possible that several Indonesian groups took part in Wednesday’s attack, added Jones.
Setyono also confirmed that the attack had ties to ISIS. However, officials are “still studying whether it’s an international network.” They are seeing if, according to Setyono, the attackers had direct orders from Syria or another country.
According to an anonymous law enforcement source, the attack may also have ties to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, an umbrella terrorist organization that is estimated to have recruited hundreds of ISIS supporters in Indonesia.
Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, has attempted to soothe the country’s fears. “We must continue to keep calm (and) keep cool,” Widodo stated. “Because…we Muslims are preparing to enter the month of Ramadan for fasting.”
Nonetheless, Wednesday’s attack has made authorities in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, even more worried about Islamic extremists. Militants, inspired by ISIS, have recently caused a major increase in radicalism in the country.
Over the past 17 months, Indonesia has consistently suffered from series of attacks led by Islamic State sympathizers. While most of the attacks have been low-level and poorly organized, it is possible that up to 400 Indonesians have joined the Islamic State in Syria. If these ISIS supporters return to Indonesia, they could become even more of a lethal threat.
“After what happened in Manchester, in Marawi in the Philippines, maybe the cells here were triggered by the bombs and that lifted their passion to start bombing again,” stated Setyono.
By Manchester, Setyono was referring to the suicide bombing that occurred this Monday following an Ariana Grande concert.
Similarly, Islamist militants recently took over large parts of Marawi, a city in the southern Philippines, declaring a state of martial law. Thousands of civilians have since fled their homes.
Since the attack in Jakarta, Australian authorities, among other world leaders, have offered their condolences and support to Indonesia.
“We condemn the murderous terrorist attack on civilians and police in Jakarta last night,” said Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. “While we mourn, we must learn from these events as we do and sharpen our resolve to defeat the terrorists abroad and at home.”
Accordingly, Australia and Indonesia will jointly host an Asia-Pacific summit this August, coordinating ways to fight against ISIS supporters returning from Syria and Iraq.
Featured image via Wikipedia
