Jakarta (dpa) – Explosions near a shopping centre in the Indonesian capital Jakarta killed at least three people on Thursday, television reports and witnesses said.
Police exchanged fire with suspected attackers after the blasts at a traffic police post in front of the Sarinah shopping centre and a nearby Starbucks coffee shop, said Ruly Koestaman, an office worker in a nearby building in the busy city centre.
A general view shows people gathering at the scene of a bomb blast in Jakarta, Indonesia, 14 January 2016. Explosions near a shopping centre in the Indonesian capital Jakarta killed at least four people on Thursday.
“I was in a meeting when I heard an explosion and then there was gunfire,” Koestaman said.
“We went down and saw three people lying dead, and also two foreigners badly injured but still alive,” he said.
A general view shows the scene of a bomb blast in Jakarta, Indonesia, 14 January 2016. Explosions near a shopping centre in the Indonesian capital Jakarta killed at least three people on Thursday, television reports and witnesses said. Police exchanged fire with suspected attackers after the blasts at a traffic police post in front of the Sarinah shopping centre and a nearby Starbucks coffee shop, media reported.
The broadcaster TVOne said three people were killed, including a policeman and a person thought to be a suicide bomber.
Two attackers were believed hiding in the Jakarta Theater cinema building, the channel reported.
A mobile phone video taken from a high-rise building showed one of the explosions followed by smoke billowing from the location.
TVOne said blasts also went off in three other Jakarta locations but there was no immediate confirmation.
