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Bomb blast at Makassar church causes casualties
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Ilustrasi Crime scene (Shutterstock/-)
A
n explosion outside the Catholic cathedral in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday caused 14 casualties, the National Police have confirmed.
Local media reported that the congregation had just finished celebrating Sunday mass inside the church and other residents were gathering in nearby Kerbosi Square when the explosion happened. News footage showed police had set up a cordon around the church with damaged cars parked nearby.
"We were finishing the service and people were going home when it happened," a priest from the cathedral, identified as Willem, told Metro TV. Willem added that a congregant had tried to prevent what he described as a "suicide bomber" from entering the church.
“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 Insp. Gen. Argo Yuwono said.
Local media reports say one of the suspected bombers was killed in the incident, although this has not yet been confirmed.
Churches have been targeted in the past by extremists in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation. In 2018, a dozen people were killed when a family of suicide bombers blew themselves up at churches during Sunday services in Surabaya, East Java.
Editor's note: This article has been updated.
