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Surabaya suicide bombers women, witnesses say
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An antiterror police officer stands guard at the blast site of an alleged suicide bomb attack outside a church in Surabaya on Sunday, May 13. (AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
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itnesses have identified the alleged suicide bombers in one of the Surabaya church attacks on Sunday as women who were accompanied by a young girl.
A witness, Tardianto, who was watching as the attack unfolded from a street vendor near Diponegoro Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) on Jl. Diponegoro, Surabaya, East Java, said the two women and a young girl wearing niqabs hurriedly entered the area surrounding the church. According to Tardianto’s account, a security officer at the church was walking behind and trying to stop them, however the two women split up before detonating their explosives. The young child reportedly survived, but suffered injuries.
The police have taken Tardianto to a police station for further questioning.
A parking attendant at the church, Mulyanto, offered a similar account, saying he saw three females rushing toward the church, kompas.com reported. The security officer was severely injured.
The police have yet to confirm the identities of the alleged suicide bombers, but if the witnesses' accounts are accurate, it would be the first case of female suicide bombers in Indonesia’s history.
The East Java Police said the death toll from the attacks on three churches in Surabaya had risen to at least 11 people, while at least 40 people had been injured. The explosions took place at Santa Maria Tak Bercela Catholic Church (STMB) on Jl. Ngagel Madya in Gubeng, Surabaya Pentecostal Church (GPPS) on Jl. Raya Arjuna and Diponegoro Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) on Jl. Diponegoro. (swd)
