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Further attacks feared following IS-claimed Jakarta twin blasts
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Showing sympathy: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) and First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo (second left), accompanied by Vice President Jusuf Kalla (center) and Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki (second right), visit a victim of the Kampung Melayu suicide bomb attack at Dr. Sukanto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on May 25. (Antara/Desca Lidya Natalia)
T
he suicide bombings at the busy bus station in East Jakarta—an attack that killed three policemen and injured 12 others on Wednesday night—has put authorities on alert to remain vigilant in anticipation of further attacks.
The Islamic State (IS) group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, which targeted police officers who were guarding a traditional parade of residents welcoming the fasting month of Ramadhan.
"The executor of the attack on the Indonesian police gathering in Jakarta was an Islamic State fighter," the group's news agency, Amaq, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The attack was the second IS-claimed attack on Indonesian soil. A series of bomb and gun attacks in front of the Sarinah shopping center in Central Jakarta in January 2016 resulted in the deaths of eight people, including four attackers.
(Read also: Police find links between Jakarta twin bombings and Bandung bombing)
Analysts have called on the public to stay alert following reports that hundreds of Indonesians have flocked abroad to join the fight with the militant group and could pose as threats upon their return.
"We could see pro-IS groups trying to prove they still have the resources and will to act. However, the Indonesian Police have been very effective in disrupting terrorist networks," said Sidney Jones, the director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), on Thursday.
Following the attack, several embassies in Jakarta, including that of the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Malaysia, have issued travel advisories for their respective citizens who currently reside in Indonesia. (dmr)
