Islamic State blamed for Jakarta attack

Indonesia blamed Islamic State (IS) for an attack by suicide bombers and gunmen in the heart of Jakarta that brought the radical group’s violence to the world’s most populous Muslim country for the first time.

Just seven people were killed despite multiple blasts and a gunfight, and five of them were the attackers themselves, but the brazenness of their siege suggested a new brand of militancy in a country where low-level strikes on police are common.

It took security forces about three hours to end the attack near a Starbucks cafe and Sarinah’s, Jakarta’s oldest department store, after a team of at least seven militants traded gunfire with police officers and blew themselves up.