Indonesian Family of Church Bombers ‘Had Been to Syria’

Bomb attacks at 3 churches

Afamily of six who carried out three church bombings in Indonesia had returned from Syria, Police say.

The Islamic State group has claimed the attacks, which killed at least 13 people on Sunday. A mother and two daughters blew themselves up at a church, while the father and two sons targeted two others in Indonesia’s second city, Surabaya.

National Police chief Tito Karnavian said they belonged to an IS-inspired network, Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD).

Police say the family were among hundreds of Indonesians who had returned from Syria, where IS has been fighting government forces. No details were given about the family’s alleged involvement in that conflict.

The bombings are the deadliest in Indonesia in more than a decade, and also left more than 40 people injured.

Visiting the scene of one of the attacks, President Joko Widodo described them as “barbaric”, adding that he had ordered Police to “look into and break up networks of perpetrators”.

How did the family stage the attack?

Police identified the father as Dita Futrianto, saying he was the head of a local JAD cell. He reportedly dropped off his wife, Puji Kuswati, and their two daughters at Diponegoro Indonesian Christian Church, where they blew themselves up. The girls aged 9 and 12 - had bombs strapped to them, as did their mother.

Futrianto then drove off, launching his own bomb-laden car into the grounds of Surabaya Centre Pentecostal Church, Police said. The sons - aged 16 and 18 - rode motorcycles into Santa Maria Catholic Church, and detonated explosives they were carrying. It was their attack that came first, at around 7:30pm local time (12:30am GMT). The other two attacks followed five minutes apart, Police said.

A security guard told the Associated Press news agency that the woman had arrived at the Diponegoro church carrying two bags, and forced her way inside ignoring the guards.

“Suddenly, she hugged a civilian, then [the bomb] exploded,” said a witness, who identified himself as Antonius.