VIDEO | Jakarta Worker Recounts Terror of IS Attack
By: Mon Gualvez, News5
January 16, 2016 10:41 AM
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Boni Boniviano said he was almost trapped inside one of the buildings targeted by extremists during Thursday’s terrorist attack in the heart of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta.
Boniviano told News5 in an interview that he ran down from the building’s 10th floor, where he worked, when what authorities have confirmed were suicide bombs began exploding in the street outside.
Five of the attackers died as did two civilians, an Indonesian and a Canadian. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for what would be its first attack on the country with the world’s largest Muslim population.
Indonesian authorities said the attack was masterminded by Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian based in Raqqa, the IS’ de facto capital in Syria, from where he directs a network called Katibah Nusantara. Naim, said Indonesian authorities, plans to link up groups sympathetic to IS throughout Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.
Boniviano said he was “shocked” by the attack although he added that he had “moved on at this time.”
Nevertheless, he said, his friends remain in shock from the terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Luman Isletta urged Filipinos in that country to remain vigilant and avoid going out as much as possible, particularly to crowded areas, because the extremists possible targets are foreigners.