Indonesia cathedral hit by suicide blast
Print Edition
Two attackers blew themselves up outside a packed Roman Catholic cathedral during a Palm Sunday Mass on Indonesia鈥檚 Sulawesi island, wounding at least 20 people, police said.
A video showed body parts scattered near a burning motorbike at the gates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province.
Reverend Wilhelmus Tulak, a priest at the church, said that he had just finished celebrating Palm Sunday Mass when a loud bang shocked his congregation. He said the blast went off at about 10:30am as a first batch of churchgoers was walking out of the church and another group was coming in.
He said security guards at the church were suspicious of two men on a motorcycle who wanted to enter the building and when they went to confront them, one of the men detonated his explosives.
Muslim-majority nation
Police later said both attackers were killed instantly and evidence collected at the scene indicated one of the two was a woman. The wounded included four guards and several churchgoers, police said.
The attack a week before Easter in the world鈥檚 most populous Muslim-majority nation came as the country was on high alert following December鈥檚 arrest of the leader of the Southeast Asian militant group, Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been designated a terror group by many nations.
Indonesia has been battling militants since bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Attacks aimed at foreigners have been largely replaced by smaller, less deadly strikes targeting the government, police and anti-terrorism forces and people militants consider as infidels.
President Joko Widodo condemned yesterday鈥檚 attack and said it has nothing to do with any religion as all religions would not tolerate any kind of terrorism. 鈥淚 call on people to remain calm while worshipping because the state guarantees you can worship without fear,鈥 Widodo said in a televised address.
At the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica, which opened Holy Week ceremonies at the Vatican, Pope Francis invited prayers for the victims of violence. He cited in particular 鈥渢hose of the attack that took place this morning in Indonesia, in front of the Cathedral of Makassar.鈥
At least 20 people were wounded in the attack and had hospitalized, said Mohammad Mahfud, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.
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