Suicide blast hits Indonesian church

[snagglepuss]

Source: Guardian UK

A suicide bomber attacked an Indonesian church on Sunday, killing himself and wounding at least 20 people.

The attack in Solo, in Central Java province, occurred as services were ending. A witness told the local station MetroTV that she heard the blast just after she walked out of the Kepunton church.

"Everyone was screaming," she said. "I saw fiery sparks and, near the entrance, a man dead on the ground. People around him were splattered with blood."

Others said they believed the perpetrator was not a church member. "He walked about four metres behind me," one told El Shinta radio. "I believe he was disguised as a churchgoer."



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/25/suicide-blast-indonesia-church

[Nostalgic]

1. Indonesia Church Bomber Part of Cirebon Terrorist Network, Yudhoyono Says

Indonesia Church Bomber Part of Cirebon Terrorist Network, Yudhoyono Says

By Femi Adi and Berni Moestafa - Sep 26, 2011 3:00 AM ET

The suicide bomber who attacked a Christian church in the Indonesian city of Solo in Central Java province yesterday was part of a terrorist network based in Cirebon, West Java, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

The bomber detonated his device as people were exiting the building after services ended, killing himself and wounding 27 other people, one critically, Anton Bahrul Alam, a spokesman for Indonesia’s national police, told reporters at a press briefing yesterday in Jakarta.

“Based on the early investigation, the suicide bomber is a member of the terrorist network in Cirebon,” Yudhoyono told reporters at a press briefing at the presidential palace in Jakarta. “I have instructed the National Police to dismantle the network of actors and their funding.”

Yesterday’s attack, the second suicide bombing in Indonesia this year after a bomber attacked a mosque in a police station in Cirebon, West Java province in April, killing himself and wounding several officers, underscores the need for authorities to improve intelligence gathering to detect plots before they are carried out, said Noor Huda Ismail, founder of the Jakarta- based Institute of International Peace Building.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-25/indonesia-church-bomber-part-of-cirebon-terrorist-network-yudhoyono-says.html