One of the masterminds behind a series of terror attacks that hit Jakarta on Jan 14 is a convict on death row, Iwan Kurniawan or Rois, Indonesian police told reporters on Thursday (Mar 3), adding Bali, an airport and an international school in the capital had also been considered targets.

Currently, Rois is awaiting his sentence for his role in the 2004 bombings at the Australian embassy in Jakarta.

Since the brazen assault in Thamrin business district, more than 40 suspects have been arrested; six of them are directly linked to the gunfire and bombings that killed eight people, including the four terrorists.

… Following the incident, the Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attacks. According to terrorism expert Prof Rohan Gunaratna from S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, the bombings are a prelude to IS’s declaration of its planned caliphate in Indonesia.