On 14 January 2016, multiple explosions and gunfire were reported near the Sarinah shopping mall in central Jakarta, Indonesia, at the intersection of Jalan Kyai Haji Wahid Hasyim and Jalan MH Thamrin. One blast went off in a Starbucks cafe and one went off at a police post outside the mall.
Though Indonesia is far from the conflicts of the Middle East, the country has experienced several attacks by Islamist militants in the past two decades that have killed hundreds.
This was the first major attack in Jakarta since the 2009 Jakarta bombings, which were carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah and killed 7 plus 2 suicide bombers.
On 14 January 2016 at 10:40 a.m. local time, several blasts followed by gunfire were reported to have occurred in Central Jakarta, which is home to many luxury hotels, and offices and embassies. According to a spokesman for the Indonesian National Police, the attack involved an unknown number of assailants with grenades and guns.
According to Jakarta police, an ISIL-linked Indonesian extremist, Bahrun Naim, was the mastermind behind the attack. Naim, thought to be a native of the Central Java city in Pekalongan, relocated to Raqqa, Syria sometime before the attacks; he has been known to authorities since at least 2010.
