In its first attack in Southeast Asia, the Islamic State targeted Indonesia. In the capital city of Jakarta, on January 14, coordinated attacks tore through a Starbucks coffee shop and cascaded onto the street outside. Just down the road, gunmen walked into a police station and opened fire.

Initial reports indicate two civilians have been killed and at least 24 injured. Five terrorists add to the list of the dead. More are considered to be on the run.

Indonesian police identified Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian citizen fighting in Syria, as the principal organizer. Naim is a leader of Katibah Nusantara, an extremist group that has served as a go-between for the Islamic State and Islamist militants in Indonesia and Malaysia. Naim is suspect number one in part because of comments he has made calling for a Paris-style attack in Jakarta.

The attacks are stirring up memories of the 2002 Bali bombings, when over 200 people were killed. Many of the victims were foreigners on vacation. While Thursday’s attack was limited in casualties, it suggests a resurgent threat of radicalization in Indonesia.

The Bali bombings were the work of Jemaah Islamiyah—a terrorist group that pledged allegiance to al Qaeda. Indications are that some Indonesian supporters of al Qaeda are now joining the Islamic State. One notorious leader of Jamaah Islamiyah, Santoso, has officially pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. According to Foreign Policy, Santoso’s supporters are based in Sulawesi and have carried out attacks on police from there.

With terrorists in Indonesia starting to take up the Islamic State banner, it was only a matter of time before an attack came to Jakarta.

Some analysts look at the low civilian death toll and suggest that the attack was directed at police as an act of retribution for recent crackdowns on homegrown terrorism.

However, a few facts suggest that this is the Islamic State trying to instill terror and gain a foothold in Jakarta. For one, the terrorists attacked a relatively unarmed area—similar to the targets in Paris. The police station attacked was small and unprepared. The coffee shop was an easy target. Furthermore, the terrorists were all laden with explosives. Police uncovered grenades and more explosives on the bodies of the terrorists. These weapons don’t just kill police when they go off. They are indiscriminate. Also, an unexploded bomb was found after the incident. Police suspect that the purpose of the bomb was to kill civilians when they milled around to see what happened after the commotion died down. Fortunately, the device failed to detonate.

The attack should serve as a wake-up call to the West. The Islamic State is still not restricted to its land in the Middle East. It is expediting terrorism. It is alive and working across the world. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in Southeast Asia and thus fertile ground for insurrection. Loose border control through Malaysia and other neighboring countries allow Islamic State fighters to come and go with ease. It is estimated that over 100 Indonesians fight for the Islamic State in Syria today. If the Islamic State gains a strong foothold in Southeast Asia, it means yet another front on which the West must fight in order to eradicate the terrorist group.

The Islamic State reported last year that it wanted to establish a distant caliphate in Indonesia—the nation with the largest Muslim population in the world. It appears the attempt has been set in motion.

The attack should also be a warning to Australia and the other nations of Oceania. Australia has started to see more terrorist-related incidents. Now the rest of Southeast Asia is on alert. The success of Thursday’s attack will only serve to embolden the Islamic State and give it more reason to devote finances and manpower to establish itself in Southeast Asia.