Jakarta standoff over: police

Jakarta's police announced the city was secure following a terrorist attack in a busy shopping area on Thursday morning that left several dead.

"At the moment the situation is under control," a spokesperson said, according to AFP news agency. Police reported there were no more attackers at large.

Seven people, including two policement and four of the attackers, were killed in a series of coordinated assaults around the city, which began with an explosion at a Starbucks in a heavily populated shopping area and continued with an attack on a nearby police post.

Officials have since announced that the attacks were carried out by a group with links to the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) terror group. Aamaaq news agency, which is affiliated with IS, also said the organization was behind Thursday's events.

War in the streets

As frightened civilians looked on, police engaged in gun battles with the attackers while bloodied bodies lay strewn about in the street.

It was still unclear who was behind the attack, although Indonesian authorities said IS had threatened a large-scale attack not long before Thursday's events.

The government deployed some 150,000 security personnel around the city following the attack.

Terrorism persists

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has been the victim of a string of terrorist attacks over the past decade and a half.

The country suffered several bombings between 2000 and 2009. In 2002, it was the victim of an attack on the popular resort island of Bali, which left 202 dead.

An estimated 500-700 Indonesians have gone to the Middle East to join IS. According to one monitoring group, many of them have since returned.

blc/rc (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa)