The police have confirmed that the explosion in a male toilet in Mall @ Alam Sutera last Thursday was caused by a handmade explosive. They also believe the bomb was planted by someone who either has links to, or has sympathies for, ISIS.
Jakarta Police Chief Tito Karnavian told the press that the act of terrorism was carried out after ISIS Spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani’s issued a fatwa that jihad is best carried out during the holy month of Ramadan.
“There have been explosions in Tunisia, Kuwait and Paris. All of them happened after ISIS issued the fatwa,” Tito said, as quoted by Warta Kota on Saturday.
Tito added that the Jakarta Police are investigating the possible link, and they believe that the explosion in the mall is merely a sign of more to come, with westerners being their main target.
“This [explosion] was an experiment, they’re still trying things out. Their target was a mall [where there aren’t many westerners],” he said, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
The police say they know the physical characteristics of the man who planted the handmade explosive through the mall’s CCTV camera footage. No arrests have yet been made.
