US condemns Jakarta terror attacks

The United States government has condemned the bomb blasts and shootout that took place in a Starbucks cafe and near a police post in the Jakarta Theatre Building of the M.H. Thamrin Boulevard, earlier today.

"The U.S. government strongly condemns the brutality and terror attacks against the police, citizens, and foreigners that occurred today," U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Robert O. Blake stated in a written statement received by ANTARA News on Thursday.

Blake offered condolences to the families of those who were killed, and hoped full recovery for those who have been injured.

"Together, we stand in solidarity with our partner, Indonesia. We have also reaffirmed our will to continue cooperating with the Indonesian government to destroy the threat of terrorism," Blake said.

The U.S. Embassy has also issued two emergency notifications for Americans who live in Indonesia.

The notifications were sent by electronic mail to an emergency response network using a time stamp of GMT+7 or at around 11:44 am and 12:36 pm local time.

The embassy also uploaded the notifications on its official website at around 12:06 pm and 1:04 pm local time.

Suicide bombings and shootings, which occurred at around 10:40 am had resulted in the death of seven people and injured 20 others.

Five perpetrators of the incident were confirmed dead, including two suicide bombers and three others were shot dead by the police.

Source: ANTARA