Islamist suicide bombers are back and at it again, hitting a Catholic church in Indonesia on March 28, The Straits Times reports.
The terror attack in South Sulawesi’s provincial capital of Makassar killed two bombers and wounded at least 19 people, police said.
Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said one of the bombers belonged to local terrorist group Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD). Loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which rose to prominence during the Obama administration, JAD is linked with a group involved in a 2018 attack on Jolo, in the Philippines.
In the March 28 bombing, two people on a motorbike tried to enter the cathedral compound after mass ended, said a police spokesman. They were stopped by a church security officer and the bomb then exploded.
A damaged vehicle and human remains were found at the scene, and the wounded were being treated at nearby hospitals, he said. Police are still investigating.
Another police spokesman said one of the bombers was a man and the other likely a woman.
President Joko Widodo strongly condemned the terrorist incident. He has ordered the national police chief to investigate the attack and dismantle the network to which the perpetrators are linked.
“State apparatus won’t allow such terrorist actions and I call on people to worship calmly, because the state guarantees the security of worshippers to worship without fear.”
South Sulawesi police chief Inspector-General of Police Merdisyam told reporters that the bombing used “high explosives” and a pressure cooker, but that there was essentially no damage to the church.
