>> a series of explosions have rocked the from of the indinesian capital of jakarta. i'm richelle carey live in doha. police arrested five people with livings to the bombing that killed ten tourists. iran freeze ten u.s. sailors the day before a nuclear deal comes into effect.

dayish politicians talk about a controversial plan. a series of explosions at the center of the indonesian center of jakarta, there have been six blasts so far, and also gunfire. this is near the u.n. building in the central business district of the city. you can see it right there. local media is reporting that at least three people have been killed, including one policeman. the area has been cordoned off, and it's all happening as we speak within the last hour. this is the situation that has been going on for a while. and again, at least six explosions, an ongoing situation at this point. it's not exactly clear who the target is. you can see at least one of the blasts right there on your screen. there may be more video as well

of the other blasts. we're trying to gather more information on the explosions that happened in jakarta in indonesia. as soon as we get more information and live reports from there, we'll bring it to you. so keep it here. in the meantime, five people have been killed in a series of coordinated attacks in southeastern turkey. it happened near the police headquarters. the attackers first detonated a bomb and fired at security forces. there have been weeks of fighting between the government forces and the kurdish forces. five people have been arrested in connection to two suicides bombs in turkey. the bomber was a syrian national, and a refugee. >> reporter: on the approach

to an ancient egyptian obelisktic, a solemn group, led by prime minister, and security minsters in both turkey and germany present. there's a surreal feeling here. the whole area has been cleaned up. red flowers are the only visual sense of death. no blast damage, apart from some wood gowned out of the seat. whoever whoever attacks turkey will face retaliation. >> the bomber has been named as a 27-year-old syrian citizen, born in saudi arabia.

he's cited here on tv footage when he was said to have given his fingerprints a week ago after an illegal border crossing. it was only hours after the blast that the police say that they were able to identify him from his fingerprints. they say that he wasn't an isil suspect. one of the most historic maybes in the world, an attack on turkey's tourist industry with foreigners dead. it all sends a chilling message and a realization of the colossal task facing security and intelligence agencies. some tourists appeared defiant, although many are staying away. >> life will go on, if we let this sort of attacks impact our daily lives, i think that we're giving into the terror. so we need to it stay confident and live our lives out. >> so yeah, there might be issues from my side.

>> as the mourning begins, the germans who lost lives in this historic setting, calling for foreign governments to show more solidarity with turkey in its fight against isil. andrew simmons, aljazeera. >> taking you back to the situation happening in jakarta in indonesia. these are the pictures that you're seeing, and there's an explosion. reports that in the last hour, there were six quick explosions followed by gunfire in a very busy section of jakarta. near many offices, in the business district of the city. there are reports that at least one police officer has been killed. three people total killed. so one of those people being a police officer. obviously, this area has been

cordoned off by security forces because the situation is still happening as we speak. at this point, we do not know who the tart of this attack was. obviously, with it being early on in a developing story, we don't know, there are already theories about this, but we do not know exactly who the target of this attack was. people earlier were talking to our reporter there rosy, strike being terrified. and there were civilians screaming as they tried to get the situation under control. and at this point, a stabilized situation. as you can see, there are lots of security forces in the area, in jakarta where this situation is developing, unfolding as we speak. we do have reporters rosy, who are going to get you more information, and 23 we can go back to the picture of the explosion that we saw, one of at least six explosions right here in a very busy section of

jack art jakarta, indonesia, ane was perhaps a second explosion, one of several in the city, as you can imagine, a very terrifying thing to see and here. steph, tell us what you saw and heard right now. >> this is in the center of jakarta. what we know, 10-15 people on a motorbike, carrying long rifles and explosives have entered the center of the city, the commercial part of jakarta. they have been shooting around, and there of been explosions being heard. the targets seem so far, the police post in the middle of the traffic circle, a small

post, where thereof been confirmed deaths, and several others seem to have died here, but we do not know the numbers right now. the situation is ongoing, because in the jakarta theater, the cinema around the corner from where it happened, allegedly people are happening inside. and armed men independents. and the police have already surrounded the building, waiting for what's going to happen after this. a lot of people were screaming, and this is like really the heart of indonesia. it's right near the palace, and near the ministry that's near the united nations compound, and so this is where the attacks took place and the police have confirmed that there have been threats. it has been confirmed that there have been threats from isil, targeting indonesia. so they have said that

indonesia would be the center by committing an attack like this, and it's basically a paris-style attack that's ongoing in jakarta. >> still very early on, no one exactly claiming responsibility. and i do understand what you're saying about what isil said, generally speaking, but they don't quite claim responsibility for this. and we want to be clear about that. steph, can you say what's happening with our gunmen that police believe they know where they are? is that what they're saying? >> there has not been any claim, but police have confirmed to us that there have been threats by isil toward indonesia, and one of the tarts have also been the police themselves. so the police was aware of a serious threat coming from armed groups in indonesia and there of been a lot of arrests in the last couple of weeks.

dozens of arrests have been made, which didn't -- and now a few weeks later, the situation as we're explaining right now in central jakarta. >> all right, steph, can you tell us at this moment what you believe is happening with the armed gunmen that the police, they know where they are, and possibly how many there are. what do you know about that? >> reporter: yeah, the situation is unclear. what we know, there are armed gunmen, allegedly hiding in the jakarta theater, which is a big cinema where the police post has just been blown up, and the police are circling and surrounding the area. it's unclear how many people are inside because it's the cinema complex, but it's also not clear at this stage. the police are not giving of

about the ongoing situation right now, and we also hear that there are other bomb explosions being heard in other parts of the city, so not in the center, but the western and the southern part of the city, but also, that's not being confirmed. >> okay, so this is the possibility that it's not just in one concentrated area. with the particular time of day that this happened, could you tell us how busy it is, and how many people are out and about? >> reporter: yeah, early morning, around 10:30, 11:00 here in jakarta, and of course it's a busy time. a lot of people here in this very crucial road. in the heart of the city, at least from the south to the north part of the city, and the incident, the attacks happened right in the middle of it. in the center where the offices are. a lot of people going around, there are a lot of coffee shops there, and a lot of people

going into their offices there. so it has been a very busy time of day. and in the jakarta theater, i suspect a lot of busy things going on. so a lot of people are in those places right now, and of course everyone is shocked because this has not happened in indonesia for a long time. we have had a lot of serious bomb attacks in the past. but it has not happened since 2009. in the hotel where seven people died back then. but after that, the movement that was responsible for these attacks has been basically deigned, and basic beendetainede have been killed by the police. combating terrorism in indonesia, but most recently, the police have been telling us directly that there are new

threats, especially targeted at the police themselves, and this also seems to be happening this morning, that the police was personally being targeted for what they have done to the movement in the past. >> so the reason your understanding that the police are being targeted is retaliation for the things that they tried to do to stop the violence? is that your understanding of why? >> yes. that's exactly our understanding, and it's also how the police chief recently explained at length to me that the police has an underprotection recently, high security because also the police chief himself has been personally threated. there were a lot of leads that they had that the police were under attack, and so that's why recently they made a lot of arrests. because they were very worried that things were going to go very wrong, and also, the laws

in indonesia were not strong enough to make preventive actions against people. and there's still a debate, going about making the laws stronger, so they have more instruments to be prevent attacks like this. >> all right, step, it's almost a quarter after the hour, so perhaps it's a good time to reset the table, if the viewers are just joining us, and perhaps you can recap what you saw and heard just an hour ago and tell the viewers what's happening right now. with the understanding that this is a developing and fluid situation, and there's a lot that we don't know. but just get us up to speed. >> yeah, what we have known, people in the center of jakarta, mobilized, carrying rifles, shooting into the crowd. and also carrying explosives. one person blew himself up at a

small police post in the middle of one of the main roads in jakarta, leading up to the palace, and all of the major office buildings in the united nations buildings, and all of this is one of the most crucial areas here in indonesia and the police said that there was a direct threat from isil that they would attack indinisha soon. we have not heard any confirmation of who the people are that were responsible for these attacks, but there's a situation, ongoing in a cinema complex, where people are allegedly hiding with rifles, and the police are around the building, and we heard that there might be other explosions in other parts of the city, but that has not been confirmed yet. >> okay, step, if i could get you to stay close for a moment, i'm going to bring in the ceo

of tempo, an indonesian magazine, and bombbang, are you here? >> yes. >> i don't know if you were able to hear the recording from step in indonesia, but i'm wondering if there's anything else that you can do. what's your understanding of what's currently happening right now? the recording said that gunmen are perhaps pinned down in the theater in jakarta. and are you aware of the same situation? >> yes, i think so, but it seems to me that this is not something that just -- it seems to me that it's probably expected, because you can see it quite in detail. and you can see that the camera is not just a camera.

but the camera is moving, so someone is really -- some of these people. so it's like in the movies. so to me, it's impossible that this happened without -- >> the reports, if people came into the city firing rifles from motorbikes, it seems like a thoroughly coordinated attack, and what have you done that the police have been victims of? >> well, as you see, we can also see that one of the -- clearly, because they exploded by themselves, and the other is being shot at. so i was just hearing the

security radio channel, and in the security people, in the communication, you can hear in indonesian that one person is an officer, that's dead. and so that's all i know right now. and the other early information about another explosion, which is nearer to where i'm standing now, seems to be not true. >> so you're saying that there has been unconfirmed reports that perhaps the explosions are not concentrated in one area, and you're trying to get information on that. and you're saying that the reports that it was near where you are are not true? >> i believe that it's not true. it's probably just propane dust exploding in a kitchen, because from my office, i can see the

police office near my office, and earlier we thought it was supposed to be perhaps the second tart. but i just checked from the top of my office, and you can see these police office, and there was no attack. >> have you spoken to any witnesses at all since this happened in the last hour? >> there are some witnesses, but most of the witnesses that we have contacted, they just heard the explosion, and people -- >> how safe would you say that people feel in the city, particularly in this area of the city, in this business district in how safe would the average person feel? >> well, i think it depends on

the person, but this person would not be so much affected because this is not like a big bomb or something like that. so far we haven't heard many people shot except the police. >> but if the reports are accurate that there are armed men coming down the street on motorbikes, and then there were six bombs, clearly that's a frightening situation. >> yeah, but the road is very big. and i'm thinking at this point in time it's not many people walking in the street. it can be a very scary, if you are there. but if you see on the video, the tv, people, witnesses don't seem to be very much afraid. they seem to be very

interested, coming in to see what happened. >> what sources, what reporting do you have on what threats have been made against the police? >> well, right here, after the attack in other countries, we have a lot of warning from our police and our security office that there is probably a planned attack during the christmas and the new year, and that's why the police tighten up their security, and just after the explosion, we also got our security people, got to the police to tighten up the security in the office, so i believe this happened all over indonesia, and so it seemed to me some sort of anticipated

attack. >> you were told that it's necessary to step up security. >> because they warned you of the attack, you know, attack for a few places, and especially the police stations are told to be prepared. because the information on the channel, one of the tarts is the police station and the officers. >> if i can get you to hold on for just a moment, information about what's happening in jakarta right now. and step, i'm not sure if you heard, but ben bang, the ceo of tempo magazine, said that he too is familiar with that

reporting, that there were security threats, and there were threats to police officers. it's not be obviously confirmed that the police were the target here, but it's clearly what it's looking like. have you been able to gather any more information? >> reporter: yeah, it was a very significant eyewitness report from a man who saw right in front of him, one of the people on the motorbike aiming his rifle at one of the police officers at that police post on the road in central jakarta. you saw how this person aimed his rifle and shot the policeman from a very short distance, so it's all of those towns, of course, with the idea that the police have been targeted directly during this attack, and also because the police post was blown up, there was not much left of it, and all of the victims that so far we have seen were at that

police post. >> so tell us again, what was your understanding of where at least some of the alleged gunmen are right now? >> it's unclear where they all are. we're talking about 10-15 people, and it's also being reported, some of them are already being detained but it's unconfirmed. in the cinema and the cafe, but still where allegedly the people are hiding. armed men are hiding inside, and the police are surrounding the building, we have no updates on the situation, and how many people are inside at the moment. it's blocked off and the streets are empty. there's no one on the streets retain now.

jakarta, which was lively and busy just an hour ago, is nearly emempty. the police are blocking off all of the roads and dealing with this on going situation. just a few hundred meters from where we are right now. >> step, if i could get you to hold for a minute, we have someone on the phone right now who is in the intercouldn't mentaincidentcontinental hotel. and tell me how you became aware of what's happening right now. >> i heard it from a friend in the united states, this is the age of global communication, but i was on the way to the event at the intercontinental, which has been canceled. and in fact, and in fact, the

streets became rapidly cleared. and shortly after i got here, they locked down the hotel and asked us not to leave. >> so you didn't actually hear the explosions? >> no, i mean jakarta is a city of more than 9 million people, so we -- the hotel itself is probably about a kilometer from the first site of the attack, but you know, that's a police where many of us go in and have meetings, and it's right across the street from the united nations offices, and close to a lot of government offices, and it's a very common spot for a meeting. >> absolutely, a place that if you wanted to make an impact, that would be the place to do it. so at this moment, your

understanding is that you all have to stay there. are you able to look outside of the window to see if there's anybody around, or if the entire area has been shut down? >> when i got here, just before noon, the streets were still open, but i have heard since then that they have closed the streets, both north and south of here. >> is anyone coming to give you all consistent updates? >> well, the hotel general manager came and gave us a quick briefing and let us know that we were on lockdown, and fortunately, the hotel itself is fairly secure. >> okay, that was actually the next question, how safe and secure do you feel right now? >> again, it's a big city.

and the police are advising now that people avoid american branded hotels and restaurants, all of the five star he hotels and big facilities will probably be on lockdown at this point. >> probably so. and we will follow that. paul roland, thank you so much for telling us how you're doing, and i hope that things remain that way, in lockdown in the intercontinental hotel. let's go open to step, and are you aware of where this hotel is that mr. roland is in? >> >> reporter: yes, i know where the hotel s. and our office is closer to where the attacks are taking place. the hotel is more south. and we're a little bit more to the north.

and the attacks are taking place maybe 200 meters from our office, which is a big office building with all of the foreign media, based in this office. i have an update, and now there arer reports that the police have not arrested anyone so far. and that two people on a motorbike are on the run. the police have confirmed that there are four deaths. one police and three civilians. there was not a suicide bomb, this is an ongoing situation, and the situation changes. but the police now said that grenades were thrown at this police post, as a thorough way in the center of jakarta. and during that green aid attack, the policeman died and three civilians died as well. and there are also two wounded police in the same attack. the situation in the jakarta

theater, it's right now unclear, and there are reports that the situation is secure, and there is nobody hiding inside. but at this stage, we're still looking to find more information on the ongoing situation there. the police are still chasing the people involved in these attacks around jakarta, and the situation on the streets is very, very eerie. >> eerie -- -- >> reporter: i can see them right now. there are a lot of police, the anti-terror police going around. this is the biggest roundabout in jakarta, which is 100 meters away from the attack and the anti-terror police, on motorbikes and in cars, are headed up to the location where the grenade was thrown, and people have been shooting randomly at them just over an hour ago. the streets are all blocked off, so there are