Indonesian church bombed by suspected Islamist militants | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 10, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025
Indonesian church bombed by suspected Islamist militants

World+Biz

Reuters
29 March, 2021, 12:00 pm
Last modified: 29 March, 2021, 12:14 pm

Related News

  • Indonesia volcano spews 18-kilometre ash tower: agency
  • Indonesia offers to cut duties on US goods, buy $500 million of wheat in tariff talks
  • CA Yunus likely to visit Indonesia in Aug to boost trade ties
  • Flights to Indonesia's Bali resume after disruption by volcano eruption
  • Far from the madding crowd: 6 lesser-known islands to visit in Southeast Asia

Indonesian church bombed by suspected Islamist militants

The mass was finishing when the attackers detonated at least one device outside the church. The two suspects were the only fatalities

Reuters
29 March, 2021, 12:00 pm
Last modified: 29 March, 2021, 12:14 pm
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 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Arnas Padda/ via REUTERS
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 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Arnas Padda/ via REUTERS

Two suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist militant group attacked a Catholic church in the Indonesian city of Makassar on Sunday on the first day of the Easter Holy Week, wounding 19 people, police said.

The mass was finishing when the attackers detonated at least one device outside the church. The two suspects were the only fatalities.

Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said the bombers were both believed to belong to the Islamic State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which is suspected of suicide attacks on churches and a police post that killed at least 30 people in the city of Surabaya in 2018.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Around 20 suspected JAD members were arrested in January. The group is also believed to have been involved in a bomb attack on a Philippine church in 2019 that killed more than 20 people.

"They are part of that group ... They carried out the attack with a pressure cooker bomb," Listyo said.

In an online broadcast, President Joko Widodo condemned "this act of terrorism", urged people to remain calm, and said the government would make sure they could worship "without fear".

Police said the suspects had tried to enter the church's grounds on a motorbike. Security camera footage showed a blast that blew flame, smoke and debris into the middle of the road.

A security source who was not authorised to speak to media said they were a male college student and his female partner.

Makassar, the biggest city on the island of Sulawesi, reflects the religious makeup of Indonesia, which is the world's largest Muslim-majority country but has a substantial Christian minority, among other religions.

"Whatever the motive is, this act isn't justified by any religion because it harms not just one person but others, too," Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said in a statement.

Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the attack, according to Vatican Media.

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.

Indonesia / Indonesia church / Islamist militants

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. File photo: Collected
    Crimes against humanity: ICT orders initiating trial in first July massacre case against Hasina
  • How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit
    How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit
  • Students sit for SSC exam at Motijheel Girls' High School on 10 April 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    SSC exam results out at 2pm today: Here's how you can check online and via SMS

MOST VIEWED

  • Graphics: TBS
    BB raises startup fund limit, drops upper age barrier
  • Workers pack undergarments at the packing section of a garment factory in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora
    After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
  • Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
    Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Audit reports of most banks contain cooked up data: BB governor
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December
    CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December

Related News

  • Indonesia volcano spews 18-kilometre ash tower: agency
  • Indonesia offers to cut duties on US goods, buy $500 million of wheat in tariff talks
  • CA Yunus likely to visit Indonesia in Aug to boost trade ties
  • Flights to Indonesia's Bali resume after disruption by volcano eruption
  • Far from the madding crowd: 6 lesser-known islands to visit in Southeast Asia

Features

Women are forced to fish in saline waters every day, risking their health to provide for their families. Photo: TBS

How Mongla’s women are bearing the brunt of rising salinity

16h | Panorama
Dr Mostafa Abid Khan. Sketch: TBS

Actual impact will depend on how US retailers respond: Mostafa Abid Khan

2d | Economy
Thousands gather to form Bangla Blockade in mass show of support. Photo: TBS

Rebranding rebellion: Why ‘Bangla Blockade’ struck a chord

2d | Panorama
The Mitsubishi Xpander is built with families in mind, ready to handle the daily carpool, grocery runs, weekend getaways, and everything in between. PHOTO: Akif Hamid

Now made-in-Bangladesh: 2025 Mitsubishi Xpander

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Trump threatens to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazil

Trump threatens to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazil

1h | TBS World
Can India stop water flow to Pakistan?

Can India stop water flow to Pakistan?

2h | TBS World
SSC exam results are out today, results will be available via SMS

SSC exam results are out today, results will be available via SMS

2h | TBS Today
Leaked audio: Jinping thought Trump was crazy

Leaked audio: Jinping thought Trump was crazy

13h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net