Indonesian Cathedral Bombed in Palm Sunday Attack

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Currents News Staff

Authorities are now investigating any ties between the bombers and radical networks. They linked one of the militants to a 2019 suicide attack that killed 23 people at a cathedral in the Philippines.

The Palm Sunday bombing is the most recent attack on Christians, a growing trend in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.

A fireball and then smoke burst out the moment an explosive was detonated outside of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar.

Palm Sunday Mass had just ended and as churchgoers were leaving, the blast went off.  

At least 20 people were wounded and taken to area hospitals. Police say the two suspected bombers who used a motorbike in the attack have died. They say they were newlyweds who were members of a pro-Islamic State extremist group. Security guards at the church say the man and woman first tried to enter the cathedral. When they were turned away, they blew themselves up. Four guards were among the injured. 

The president of the Muslim-majority nation, Joko Widodo, condemned the March 28 attack saying terrorism is a crime against humanity and has nothing to do with any religious teachings. 

“I invite all members of society to jointly fight terrorism and radicalism, which are against our religious values and noble values as a nation that upholds divine values and upholds the values of diversity.”

So far, there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.