3rd LD: Canadian among fatalities of Jakarta attack

Indonesia's Jakarta police chief Tito Karnavian said terror group Islamic State (IS) was the perpetrator of the suicide bombing in Jakarta on Thursday that killed seven people and injured 20 others.

"The network of the perpetrator is the group related to the IS," the police chief told a press conference.

The police chief said one Canadian national and one Indonesian are among the seven fatalities in the attack. Five policemen are among the 20 injured.

The Jakarta police chief said the IS changed strategy by establishing branches across nation, including in the Southeast Asia.

"In Southeast Asia, their cells exist in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines," Tito said.

The police chief said six grenades and one big bomb failed to be exploded in Thursday's attack.

The suicide bombings occurred after the police got warning from the IS that it would launch strikes in Indonesia, said Brigadier General Anton Charliyan, the national police spokesman.

"It is clear that from the warning given by the IS group that Indonesia will have a concert, Indonesia will be an international news," Anton said.

Indonesian Security Chief Minister Luhut Panjaitan said Indonesia has been targeted by the IS, which led the security authority to put the country on top alert of the danger.

"We have given warnings to the people of the possible strikes and conducted arrests of several militants in many places in the country," Anton said.

Local analysts said some 800 Indonesians have joined the IS in Syria and Iraq and they have already returned to Indonesia. Enditem