Many pedestrians and street vendors passing by the site of the carnage watched the scene where several bombs had gone off at around 10.40 am near the Starbucks store of Sarinah and the police post located across the shopping center.
At least three people had died in the incident at the police post.
Moment before the incident, people who had gathered around the police post had little idea that there were several perpetrators lurking around.
Many civilians were taking pictures of those who later fell victim near the post as gunshots were fired by a man who had positioned himself just behind them.
All of a sudden, the crowd ran helter-skelter as a shootout began between police officers and two terrorists who were carrying pistols.
Some pictures taken by members of the press and amateur photographers of happenings around the area showed that many people stayed away from the site of shooting but without a cover to shield themselves from the shots or a stray bullet.
Despite police officers setting barriers to ensure that people did not get close to the area, many seemed curious to know more about what exactly had happened there.
About 15 minutes after the shooting happened in Menara Cakrawala building, located on the side of Burger King and Starbucks store, two bombs exploded and killed the terrorists.
Some amateur videos that recorded the ambush showed that the bombs seemed to have been exploded unintentionally after one of the perpetrators touched a bag that possibly contained these bombs.
"The explosion that occurred in front of Starbucks shop during the shootout was not a suicide bomb. A terrorist had tried to throw a grenade but it exploded when he touched it," the Chief of Public Relations of the Jakarta Police, Senior Commissioner Mohammad Iqbal, told the media Friday evening.
Police noted that the bombs that the terrorists carried were low intensity kind.
The police also said it was a suicide bomb that blasted the police post.
Iqbal said the perpetrator had hugged a victim inside the police post but he escaped successfully though he did suffer injuries.
Police also found evidence of suicide bombing in the form of the body of the terrorist in the police guardhouse that had borne the brunt of the bomb.
"We discovered a severe injury in the abdomen of a victim and premised that it must have happened because of the attached bomb," Iqbal added.
Police also announced on Saturday names of perpetrators who died in the car park of Menara Cakrawala building, namely Sunakin alias Afif and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, the terrorist who died in Starbucks shop was identified as Ahmad Muhazin.
The institution also identified the bombers who died in the police house guard as Sugito and Dian Joni Kurniadi.
The tragedy claimed the lives of civilians, Rico Hermawan of Indonesia and a Canadian, Amel Quali Taher. The police are still investigating further.
Additionally, the National Terrorism Countermeasure Agency or BNPT announced that many regions in Indonesia have become potential headquarters of the radical movement. These included Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi as well as Maluku.
The Chief of BNPT, Saud Usman, said the perpetrators can find fertile ground in conflict areas, particularly in eastern Indonesia.
The security institutions are taking some immediate measures following the attack in Jakarta by detaining certain people accused of terrorism.
The Anti-Terror 88 Special Detachment teams arrested a number of persons on Friday in Depok, Bekasi, and Cirebon of West Java Province.
The team also detained several accused in Tegal of Central Java Province and Balikpapan of East Kalimantan Province.
No fear
Several Islamist movements in Indonesia have asked people not to be afraid due to the terror attack that claimed seven lives and left 26 injured.
The Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Said Aqil Siroj, said he believed that Indonesia would not lose the battle against terrorism.
"The nation must not stop countering such terrorist attacks. Any act of omission will only lead to more terrorism and radicalism," Siroj said here.
Siroj urged the government to intensify security measures to gather information about terrorist movement from civilians.
The Nahdlatul Ulama leader invited all Indonesians to avoid the ISIS, a radical movement. "We should thwart the ISIS mission. They are our enemies who have crossed all ethical and religious values. Terrorism is our public enemy," Siroj added.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Muhammadiyah of Germany, Ridho Alhamdi, urged the Indonesians to fight against terrorism.
"Many people want to obstruct Indonesias path to development. We should maintain the Indonesian unity," Alhamdi said.
He reiterated that terrorism is not limited to any particular religion. Islam, said the Chairman, did not condone terrorism.
Alhamdi asked the authorities to immediately complete the investigation into the "Thamrin attack."
He added that the attack came on a day when several important developments were slated, such as Freeport divestment, and also when a political figure was to be apprehended.
Things were quiet around the Sarinah shopping center on Saturday afternoon, possibly also because it was a weekend holiday.
The Starbucks coffee shop and the police post remained closed for further investigation.
However, some retail stores, including the Lotus shopping center and a McDonald outlet across the Starbucks at Sarinah opened as usual.(*)
Reporter: Bayu Prasetyo
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
