JAKARTA. The explosion in front of the cathedral of Makassar, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in which 14 people were injured, was allegedly the work of two suicide bombers. One of them was a woman. The attackers were on a motorcycle trying to enter the cathedral area, but were detained by church security personnel, including five faithful who had just left the church to attend Palm Sunday mass. “There were two people aboard a motorcycle when the explosion occurred in front of the main gate of the church,” said a spokesman for the national police, Argo Yuwono, “the attackers were trying to enter the church compound.” “The motorcycle was destroyed and there are human remains that we are still collecting in an attempt to identify the sex of the attackers,” the spokesman added. The Indonesian government strongly condemned the attack. Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said this attack was a heinous act.
The Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, expressed “firm condemnation” for the attack, inviting citizens to “remain calm” in celebrating their worship as “the state guarantees the safety of the faithful”. “I strongly condemn this act of terrorism and have ordered the police chief to investigate the organization of suspects thoroughly and unmask it to its roots,” said Widodo in a speech broadcast on television. “Terrorism is a crime against humanity and has nothing to do with any religion. All religious teachings reject terrorism in any capacity ». The Indonesian president then invited to pray for the “immediate recovery” of the 19 people injured in the explosion of a motorcycle loaded with explosives outside the Makassar cathedral, where the Palm Sunday mass had just ended. At the moment, it seems that the only victims are the two bombers.