Indonesia bombings that killed 8 in churches continue for 2nd day

ISIS claimed responsibility for attacks Sunday that targeted churches.

May 14, 2018, 8:28 AM

London -- A day after at least 8 people were killed in suicide bombings in churches in Indonesia, suspected militants attacked a police headquarters in the same city of Surabaya, the country's second largest.

Police believe six members of one family carried out Sunday’s deadly, back-to-back bombings that targeted three churches ahead of Sunday Mass.

Monday’s attack on the police station involved a group of suicide bombers on two motorcycles who were stopped at a checkpoint outside the station.

Details are not yet clear on the number of casualties.

PHOTO: This handout photo released by the Presidential Palace on May 13, 2018 shows Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (C) and other officials holding a press conference in Surabaya after a series of suicide bombings.
This handout photo released by the Presidential Palace on May 13, 2018 shows Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (C) and other officials holding a press conference in Surabaya after a series of suicide bombings. Indonesia's President Joko Widodo visited the area after a family of six including two young daughters staged suicide bombings at three Indonesian churches during Sunday services on May 13, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.
Rusman Jhony/AFP/Getty Images

“We are still investigating on whether the explosion came from a car or a motorcycle," a Surabaya police spokesman said. "We can confirm a police officer was a victim of the explosion, but we cannot confirm now if it’s just an injury or death.”

Four officers are injured, according to The New York Times. The Times reported that four attackers died in the incident, and a young girl who was also on a motorbike has been taken to hospital.

The suicide bombers are believed to be a family of suspects, similar to those suspected of the church attacks Sunday.

PHOTO: Indonesian police stand guard outside the Surabaya police station following another explosion, May 14, 2018, in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Indonesian police stand guard outside the Surabaya police station following another explosion, May 14, 2018, in Surabaya, Indonesia. At least 10 people were injured on Monday at a police headquarters during a suicide bomb attack by a family of five in Surabaya after a string of suicide bombings which killed 13 people on Sunday morning, targeting churches in Indonesia's second-largest city Surabaya.
Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Indonesian President Joko Widodo condemned the church bombings as “barbaric” attacks that they went against the country’s multifaith values.

“This act of terrorism is really barbaric and beyond the limit of humanity. It has inflicted casualties among the people, police and innocent children, including the perpetrator herself and her 10-year-old children, who acted as suicide bombers,” he said.

Indonesia’s national police chief said that the family of suspects in the Sunday attacks had recently returned from Syria.

ISIS claimed responsibility on its online channels, saying the attacks were carried out by its followers.

PHOTO: Debris are seen outside Santa Maria church where an explosion went off in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, May 13, 2018.
Debris are seen outside Santa Maria church where an explosion went off in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, May 13, 2018. Media reports say simultaneous attacks on churches in Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya have killed a number of people.
Trisnadi/AP

Pope Francis during Sunday Mass in Vatican City offered prayers for the victims.

“I am particularly close to the beloved people of Indonesia,” he said. “Especially to the Christian communities in Surabaya, strongly hit by the attack against the churches. I pray for all the victims and their relatives. Let’s invoke together the God of peace, in order to stop these violent actions, may everyone’s hearts host sentiments of reconciliation and brotherhood, not sentiments of hate or violence.”

Indonesia is a majority-Muslim nation, with less than 9 percent of its population registered as Christian. However the country has a pluralist and multifaith constitution, with Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism and Hinduism recognized as the five official religions.

PHOTO: An Indonesian police officer secures the area following a bomb blast at Surabaya's police headquarters in Surabaya, East Java, East Java, Indonesia, May 14, 2018.
An Indonesian police officer secures the area following a bomb blast at Surabaya's police headquarters in Surabaya, East Java, East Java, Indonesia, May 14, 2018. According to media reports, at least four officers and six civilians were injured after an explosion following the deadly suicide bomb blasts that occurred at three churches that killed 13 in Surabaya.
EPA via Shutteterstock

However, Christians face discrimination and difficulties in practicing their faith in certain parts of the country, and there has been an uptick in radicalism since the start of the Syrian civil war.

Indonesia's security services have succeeded in broadly clamping down on domestic terror cells since the Balinese bombings of 2002, which killed over 200 people.