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Bloomberg
An explosion hit a Catholic church in central Indonesia during Palm Sunday celebrations, leaving at least 14
injured.
The suspected suicide bombing occurred outside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar city, Sulawesi island at about 10:30 am on Sunday just as mass had finished, national police spokesperson Argo Yuwono said in a briefing. Most of the victims are security guards and people attending the service.
The latest explosion echoes a string of attacks targeting churches in 2018 that killed more than a dozen people, later prompting President Joko Widodo to push for a more rigorous anti-terror law. Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, has battled extremism since independence in 1945.
According to initial reports on the latest attack, two people on a motorbike attempted to enter the churchyard but were stopped by security when the explosion happened, Yuwono said.
Forensics authorities are checking the human remains found at the scene, while police are investigating their network of possible perpetrators, according to the spokesman. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.