The congregation had been contained in the church on the island of Sulawesi at the time of the explosion, police stated, simply because the mass was ending.
Local police had beforehand stated the bomber had acted alone.
Authorities have been wanting into which radical networks the bombers got here from and whether or not the assault was linked to current arrests of suspected militants, nationwide police spokesman Argo Yuwono stated.
In January, a counter-terrorism unit raided a militant hideout in Makassar and killed two males suspected by police of involvement in twin bombings at a Philippine church in 2019 that killed greater than 20 individuals.
Father Wilhemus Tulak, a priest at the church, advised Indonesian media {that a} suspected bomber tried to enter the church grounds on a bike, however had been stopped by a safety guard.
Security digital camera footage confirmed a blast that blew flame, smoke and particles into the center of the highway.
Police didn’t say who is likely to be chargeable for the assault and there was no instant declare of accountability.
Police blamed the Islamic State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah group for suicide assaults in 2018 on church buildings and a police publish within the metropolis of Surabaya that killed over 30 individuals.
Boy Rafli Amar, the pinnacle of the nation’s National Counterterrorism Agency, described Sunday’s assault as an act of terrorism.
Makassar Mayor Danny Pomanto stated the blast may have triggered way more casualties if it had taken place at the church’s essential gate as a substitute of a aspect entrance.
Makassar, Sulawesi’s greatest metropolis, displays the non secular make-up of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation with a considerable Christian minority and followers of different religions.
“Whatever the motive is, this act isn’t justified by any religion because it harms not just one person but others, too,” Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Indonesia’s non secular affairs minister, stated in a press release.
Gomar Gultom, head of the Indonesian Council of Churches, described the assault as a “cruel incident” as Christians have been celebrating Palm Sunday, and urged individuals to stay calm and belief the authorities.
Indonesia’s deadliest Islamist militant assault occurred on the vacationer island of Bali in 2002, when bombers killed 202 individuals, most of them overseas vacationers.
In subsequent years, safety forces in Indonesia scored some main successes in tackling militancy, however extra just lately there was a resurgence of militant violence.
