Recently in Indonesia there have been several attacks of suicide bombers. One Muslim family of six people, including children, staged a horrible attack on three churches. These attacks occurred in a period when in Indonesia, the rise of Islamic radicalism.
On these shots captures the moment when four suspected Islamists drove up on two motorcycles and blew himself up outside a police station in Indonesia.
“We can confirm that the victim of the explosion was a police officer”, — said Frans Barunga manger, the representative of police of Surabaya.
Responsible for the assault authorities said a family of four, including a child. The blast occurred on Monday — the day after the suicide bombings at three churches. They shook the second largest city of Indonesia, Surabay.
“It was 7:50 a.m., the Church announced plans for the next week, when the explosion occurred. Everything was so scared!” — says a local resident Anton.
Unusual feature: each of the attackers were “suicide belt” and they were a family of six: father, mother, two daughters and two sons. The age of the children ranged from 9 to 18 years. Two sons struck the first Catholic Saint Mary’s Cathedral, about five miles from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
“Fifteen people were injured, including police, who stood guard in front of the Church,” said Rance the Barunga, the representative of police of Surabaya.
In five minutes the mother and her two daughters entered the Indonesian Christian Church “Diponegoro” and detonated explosive devices.
“I went to the diner after mass and suddenly we heard the explosion!” says the eyewitness Fang Fang.
Then across town to Pentecostal churches in Surabaya father drove and detonated the explosives Laden car. Just killed 13 people and wounded more than forty. Responsibility for the attack took on the LIH.
“This terrorist act is truly barbaric and inhuman”, — commented on the incident Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia.
As reported, the parents were in one terrorist group with ties to the “Islamic state”. Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world in recent years, faced with the rise of Islamic extremism. According to reports, over a thousand Indonesians have joined ISIS to wage war in Syria. Many of them have now gone home. With the rise of radicalism religious minorities, especially Christians, often victims of the Islamists.
On Sunday, Pope Francis invited prayer for the victims of the attacks on churches in Indonesia.
“Let us turn together to God in the world, asking Him to stop such violence. Let every human heart will prevail feelings of reconciliation and brotherhood, not of hatred and violence,” he said.
What happened last week-end the attacks against Christians were the most violent in Indonesia after the attacks on Christmas 2000, the year when Islamists killed 15 people and wounded about a hundred.
And more about the Church worldwide and how you can pray for and support persecuted Christians, you can read on the website cbnnews.com