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Suicide bombing rocks Makassar Cathedral on Palm Sunday
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Forensic police investigate the site of a suspected suicide bombing outside a cathedral in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday. (AFP/Indra Abriyanto)
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bomb believed to have been detonated by two suicide attackers exploded outside a Catholic cathedral in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday morning, wounding at least 20 and killing the assailants.
According to the National Police, the bombers arrived at the cathedral on a motorbike. A church security guard was trying to prevent the vehicle from entering the church’s grounds when the bomb exploded.
“There were two people riding on a motorbike when the explosion happened at the main gate of the church. The perpetrators were trying to enter the compound," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Argo Yuwono said on Sunday.
The blast occurred just after the congregants finished a service for Palm Sunday, which is the first day of Holy Week leading up to Easter and commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
"We were finishing the service and people were going home when it happened," said cathedral pastor Wilhelmus Tulak, as reported by AFP.
The twenty wounded, including church officials and congregants, were sent to three nearby hospitals. The church security guard was among them. He suffered wounds to the stomach and the head.
Authorities have not identified the two bombers or the type of bomb used.
