Suspected suicide bomber at Indonesia church wounds several

[rooster59]

By Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Nilufar Rizki

 

Armed police officers stand guard along a closed road following an explosion outside a Catholic church in Makassar, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, March 28, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

 

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A suspected suicide bomber blew up outside a Catholic church in the Indonesian city of Makassar on Sunday, wounding some people on the first day of the Easter Holy Week, police and a witness said.

 

The congregation had been inside the church on the island of Sulawesi at the time of the explosion, South Sulawesi police spokesman E. Zulpan told Reuters. He said it was unclear whether body parts at the scene were only from the attacker.

 

Father Wilhemus Tulak, a priest at the church, told Indonesian media that the suspected bomber tried to enter the church grounds on a motorbike, but had been stopped by a security guard. Ten people had been wounded in total, some of them seriously, he said.

 

Security camera footage showed a blast that blew flame, smoke and debris into the middle of the road.

 

Police did not say who might be responsible for the apparent attack and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

 

Police blamed the Islamic State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) group for suicide attacks in 2018 on churches and a police post in the city of Surabaya that killed over 30 people.

 

Makassar, Sulawesi's biggest city, reflects the religious makeup of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country with a substantial Christian minority and followers of other religions.

 

Gomar Gultom, head of the Indonesian Council of Churches, described the attack as a "cruel incident" as Christians were celebrating Palm Sunday, and urged people to remain calm and trust the authorities.

 

Indonesia's deadliest Islamist militant attack took place on the tourist island of Bali in 2002, when bombers killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.

 

In subsequent years, security forces in Indonesia scored some major successes in tackling militancy, but more recently there has been a resurgence of militant violence.

 

Makassar Mayor Danny Pomanto said Sunday's blast could have caused far more casualties if it had taken place at the church's main gate instead of a side entrance.

 

(Additional reporting by Stanley Widianto; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Stephen Coates)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-28

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[robblok]

As long as they blow themselves up without doing any damages I am all for it. Stupid extremists. 

[KarenBravo]

.......but, but.......it's a religion of peace and Allah is the most merciful.

[shy coconut]

3 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

.......but, but.......it's a religion of peace and Allah is the most merciful

 

 

As in all religions there are those who corrupt or exaggerate certain aspects and 

convince mentally ill people that the horrific murderous actions are done in gods name.

 

I find it really lazy to attack a religious group, ethnicity or nationality based on the actions 

of a tiny percentage.

[KarenBravo]

1 hour ago, robblok said:

sorry but most muslims are not like that. Just the idiot extremist, they get insulted by everything. But christians are not much better. This weekend a few of them attacked journalists in the Netherlands (one drove a car into a journalist) because they were reporting on churches that just kept open serving 700+ people in one service. Can't force them to close religion freedom. So extremist on all sides are idiots. Though i admit hitting someone with a car is not as bad as blowing yourself up. Still its pretty extreme for the Netherlands. 

 

Very true, most Muslims aren't like that.

Most Germans were peace loving people, yet the holocaust happened. The majority were irrelevant.

 

Most Cambodians were peace loving people, yet Pol Pot managed to kill a million people.

The majority were irrelevant.

 

Most Russians were peace loving people, yet Stalin managed to kill a millions of people.

The majority were irrelevant.

 

If the majority don't stop the abuses of the minority, they are complicit with the deeds of the minority.

 

Most Hutu people were peace loving, but at the orders of their Christian church, they slaughtered their fellow citizens who were Tutsis.

 

This kind of reflects the UK in the 1970's. If a bomb went off, the culprits were always the IRA. Does pointing that out make me a racist? (I have some Irish blood).

 

@shy coconut & shindenGo. 

Try and get your definitions right. Muslims aren't a race, so, I can't be racist.

Edited March 28, 2021 by KarenBravo

[robblok]

3 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

 

Very true, most Muslims aren't like that.

Most Germans were peace loving people, yet the holocaust happened. The majority were irrelevant.

 

Most Cambodians were peace loving people, yet Pol Pot managed to kill a million people.

The majority were irrelevant.

 

Most Russians were peace loving people, yet Stalin managed to kill a millions of people.

The majority were irrelevant.

 

If the majority don't stop the abuses of the minority, they are complicit with the deeds of the minority.

 

Most Hutu people were peace loving, but at the orders of their Christian church, they slaughtered their fellow citizens who were Tutsis.

 

This kind of reflects the UK in the 1970's. If a bomb went off, the culprits were always the IRA. Does pointing that out make me a racist? (I have some Irish blood).

 

@shy coconut. 

Try and get your definitions right. Muslims aren't a race, so, I can't be racist.

You forget how the majority of Brits were good people yet many people were massacred in their quest for an empire.

You forget how the majority of Dutch were good people yet the political actions in Indonesia were war crimes

You forget that the majority of Americans were nice people yet genocide on the American Indians happened

So lets not convict everyone for the crimes of a few.

[KarenBravo]

19 minutes ago, robblok said:

You forget how the majority of Brits were good people yet many people were massacred in their quest for an empire.

You forget how the majority of Dutch were good people yet the political actions in Indonesia were war crimes

You forget that the majority of Americans were nice people yet genocide on the American Indians happened

So lets not convict everyone for the crimes of a few.

 

 

No I didn't forget, but I think using whataboutism is just lazy.

You have kinda proved my point that the majority has always been irrelevant.

This was long ago when these attitudes were prevalent among the ruling classes. We aren't in the past now.

The British and Dutch don't act that way any more. But, I can guarantee that Muslims will always resort to violence if they feel that their religion has been ridiculed or slighted, whether that be now or, a hundred years from now.

You know who kills the most Muslims? Other Muslims that regard other sects as heretics.

Edited March 28, 2021 by KarenBravo

[KarenBravo]

And now an attack against innocent civilians in Mozambique.

Guess who was responsible?

[simple1]

48 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

And now an attack against innocent civilians in Mozambique.

Guess who was responsible?

 

ISIS - an ideology that has been thoroughly rejected by mainstream Islam.

[KarenBravo]

1 hour ago, simple1 said:

 

ISIS - an ideology that has been thoroughly rejected by mainstream Islam.

 

Did you see my post stating that the majority have always been irrelevant when it comes to atrocities?

[simple1]

2 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

 

Did you see my post stating that the majority have always been irrelevant when it comes to atrocities?

Your post wasn't clear whom your were highlighting; just clarifying...

[KarenBravo]

2 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Your post wasn't clear whom your were highlighting; just clarifying...

 

See my post eight posts above yours.

 

My main point is answering that the violent extremist Muslims are a small minority and that most Muslims are peaceful. My point was that the great evils perpetrated in history showed that it was always the minority that did these things and that the majority was irrelevant.

 

As for Mozambique, the perpetrators (yet again) were fundamentalist Muslims.

[simple1]

1 minute ago, KarenBravo said:

 

See my post eight posts above yours.

 

My main point is answering that the violent extremist Muslims are a small minority and that most Muslims are peaceful. My point was that the great evils perpetrated in history showed that it was always the minority that did these things and that the majority was irrelevant.

 

As for Mozambique, the perpetrators (yet again) were fundamentalist Muslims.

 

Unfortunately it is claimed the Mozambique authorities had warning of an attack, but didn't act in a timely manner. I would assume the city was targeted as close to oil refinery i.e. potential revenue generator, similar to an ISIS tactic in Syria / Iraq with their corrupt enablers.

[onebir]

Quote

Father Wilhemus Tulak, a priest at the church, told Indonesian media that the suspected bomber tried to enter the church grounds on a motorbike, but had been stopped by a security guard. Ten people had been wounded in total, some of them seriously, he said.

 

It would have been many more if bomb(er) had exploded inside the church.

[tonray]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:02 PM, KarenBravo said:

.......but, but.......it's a religion of peace and Allah is the most merciful.

You do realize that "Allah" is the same God of Christians and Jews also right ?

[KarenBravo]

1 hour ago, tonray said:

You do realize that "Allah" is the same God of Christians and Jews also right ?

 

Yes, all three worship the Abrahmic God and are called "People of the book".

Which one is right, do you think?

My money is on none.

[metisdead]

Some troll posts and the replies have belatedly been removed. 

[Solinvictus]

On 4/3/2021 at 9:13 AM, KarenBravo said:

 

Yes, all three worship the Abrahmic God and are called "People of the book".

Which one is right, do you think?

My money is on none.

In Thailand, some of the worst people I have ever worked with or met have been people who said they are Christian or enjoy 'gospel music.'