ISIS Targets Jakarta In Double Suicide Bombings Just Days Before Ramadan

Two suicide bombers struck a bus station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, around 9 p.m. local time (10 a.m. EDT), killing three Indonesian police officers and leaving 10 citizens wounded.

The blasts were near Jakarta's Kampung Melayu terminal, just days before Ramadan, taking place in a matter of minutes, one after the other.

“There were two blasts at around 9 pm, close to each other, there are three victims," Andry Wibowo, East Jakarta police chief, told TV station MetroTV, Aljazeera reported.

Awi Setiyono, spokesman for Indonesia national police has confirmed the bombings have definite ties to the Islamic State group (ISIS), the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The bombers used pressure cooker field with shrapnel such as nails and other sharp metal as a bomb. The burned residue of the same has been located at the scene of the blast. The identities of the bombers have not been determined yet.

The attacks in Jakarta took place just days ahead of Ramadan, a month of fasting observed by Muslims all over the world. Ramadan is scheduled to start on Friday, May 26, and continue up to June 24 this year.

Witnesses near the scene of the blast described it as a horrifying aftermath with the street laced with body parts covered in blood.

"Initially I heard a loud bang I thought it was burst tire. I saw many people gathered and taking pictures with their mobile phones. I approached them to find out what happened and I saw a severed arm on the street," said Ardi Maulana, fruit seller.

Another witness, Sultan Muhammad Firdaus said, “I was on a flyover and then I heard the first explosion. There was a 10-minute gap between the two explosions.”

This is not the first time Jakarta has been targeted by ISIS. In 2016, 2 people were killed while 24 were injured in a shooting and a suicide bombing near a Starbucks outlet in Jakarta, attacks which have since been attributed to the Islamic extremists based in Syria, CNN reported.

Another ISIS-linked attack, which took place in Bali, Indonesia, back in 2002, killed 202 people. Most of the victims of the attack were tourists.

Indonesia, which holds one of world’s largest Muslim populations, has been wary of a resurgence in radical Islamism as ISIS has renewed its efforts to recruit militants from the country.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak wrote on Twitter regarding the attack, calling on the people of Indonesia to be strong in the face of such terror.

"Malaysians stand with the Indonesian people at this time. Terrorism has no borders, knows no race or creed," he said.

The attack came despite Indonesian police being on high alert in the wake of the Manchester bombing a few days ago in the U.K. There was however, no intelligence indicating a possible date and time for the latest Jakarta attack, according to the Aljazeera report.

"As you all know that there has been global incidents in Manchester during Ariana Grande's show, there was an explosion there," Setyo Wasisto, another spokesman of the police said. “Then we also heard that in our neighboring country, the Philippines, there was an attack from ISIS in Malawi city. Thus we've actually been prepared — but we didn't know when and where it was going to happen.”