Indonesian police have arrested three suspects in connection with the attack in downtown Jakarta on Thursday that left seven people dead, including five attackers.
Police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal told The Straits Times that the three Indonesians were nabbed during a pre-dawn raid in Depok, about 1.5-hour’s drive from central Jakarta.
The raid was conducted by crack commandos from the Detachment 88 counter-terrorism unit at about 5am on Friday.
The three suspects are from a terror cell linked to Indonesian Bahrun Naim, a fighter with the Islamic State (ISI) who is believed to be in the Syrian city of Raqqa. Police believed he had planned the attack in the Indonesian capital.
The police also confirmed at a press conference on Friday that the five militants in the Jakarta attack were linked to the ISIS, Two of them were possibly former convicts of terrorism.
Security at Indonesian ports, airports as well as places frequented by foreigners, such as embassies and places with foreign investments, have been stepped up.
The number of those injured in the attack is now 26, according to the police. They include four foreigners and six police officers. The rest are Indonesians.