Scenes from a Dark Day in Jakarta


2016.01.14
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Indonesian students in Surabaya, East Java, hold a candlelight vigil for the victims of a suicide attack in Jakarta earlier in the day, Jan. 14, 2016. [AFP]

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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inspects the area near the Starbucks coffee shop, following the attack linked to the Islamic State, Jan. 14, 2016. [AFP/ CAHYO SUSMITO / PRESIDENTIAL PALACE]

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Indonesian police take cover behind vehicles as suspected militants carry out their attack in Jakarta, Jan. 14, 2016. [BenarNews]

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The attack occurred near high-rise buildings in downtown Jakarta, Jan. 14, 2016. [BenarNews]

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Indonesian police place body bags next to victims outside a traffic police outpost, Jan. 14, 2016. [AFP]

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A police bomb-squad member approaches a traffic police outpost in Jakarta after an explosion in the area, Jan. 14, 2016. [AFP]

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Indonesian soldiers stand guard at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport outside Jakarta, Jan. 14, 2016. [AFP]

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Indonesian police prepare to enter a building as attackers linked to the Islamic State exchanged gunfire with officers, Jan. 14, 2016. [AFP]

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Police officers guard the traffic police outpost in front of the Sarinah department store on Thamrin Street, Jan. 14th, 2016. [BenarNews]

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Under a “Pray for Jakarta” sign, vendors sell food outside the Starbucks coffee shop that was damaged by a bomb blast hours earlier, Jan. 14, 2016. [AFP]

As daylight turned to darkness in Indonesia on Thursday, vigils for the victims of an Islamic State (IS)-claimed attack in Jakarta sprang up throughout the nation.

Two people were killed and 24 were injured earlier in the day, when a group of suspected militants launched a suicide attack at a shopping area in downtown Jakarta. The assailants targeted a Starbucks coffee, reportedly detonating bombs and shooting at people.

Police shot and killed three of the assailants, but two of them died in explosions, according to news reports.

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo later examined the scene located about 3 km (1.86 miles) from the Presidential Palace.

“Our nation and our people should not be afraid; we will not be defeated by these acts of terror. I hope the public stays calm,” Jokowi told reporters.

IS sent out a cryptic warning before the attack occurred, National Police spokesman Anton Charliyan said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Thursday’s attack in Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim nation – was the first one there linked to the Middle East-based extremist group.

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