REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Jakarta Police Spokesman Sr Comr Mohammad Iqbal made assurance that there were no bomb scares following the bombing attacks at the Sarinah Department Store and Starbucks coffee shop in Central Jakarta on Thursday.
"I would like to emphasize that there were no bomb threats after the bomb blasts in the Sarinah area. Rumors about the presence of other bombs (following the Sarinah incident) are not true. We will secure (Jakarta areas)," Iqbal affirmed.
He called on the residents of Jakarta to continue with their normal activities but to stay vigilant.
The Jakarta Regional Police spokesman remarked that details regarding the home-assembled arms used by the terrorists during the Sarinah attack would be revealed following the completion of the site investigation.
Five terrorists, who carried out the bomb attacks, have been neutralized. The police have detected and anticipated this terror attack.
"Two perpetrators carried out suicidal attacks, and three were shot dead during efforts to arrest them. So, we stress that Jakarta residents should continue to carry out their activities normally," he emphasized.
He noted that there were 17 victims in total. Five terrorists were killed, while five police personnel suffered injuries due to gunshots fired in front of the coffee shop or from bomb shrapnels. Five civilians suffered serious wounds, and two were killed. One of the civilians who died in the incident was a foreigner.
"These figures can change if a victim who suffered serious wounds dies. There could also be victims from the coffee shop, but they returned home directly," he pointed out.
In the meantime, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has condemned the series of bomb blasts and shootouts, which have left at least six people dead in Jakarta on Thursday.
The president has ordered the security apparatus to immediately track down the perpetrators and their networks responsible for the six bomb explosions that took place near the Sarinah shopping center and one in the Starbucks cafe within the shopping center.
"I have ordered the National Police chief and the security minister to hunt down and arrest the perpetrators," President Jokowi remarked during his working visit to Cirebon, West Java, on Thursday.
The head of state affirmed that the government and Indonesian citizens should not be defeated by terror.
"The state, the nation, and the people should not be defeated by terror. I hope the people would stay calm," the president emphasized, adding that he will cut short his visit to Cirebon.
In recent weeks, Indonesia has been on edge over the threat posed by militants, and the counterterrorism police have launched a crackdown on people with suspected links to ISIS.
"We have previously received a threat from ISIS that Indonesia will be the spotlight," police spokesman Anton Charliyan informed reporters, but he said the police were unaware of who was responsible.
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