Teen a ‘fan’ of IS leader

JAKARTA: A knife-wielding Indonesian teen who tried to attack a priest at a church during a Sunday service was “obsessed” with the Islamic State (IS) extremist group’s leader, a senior minister said yesterday.

Indonesian authorities are increasingly worried about a resurgence in radicalism in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, driven in part by a new generation of jihadis inspired by the IS.

“From the cellphone that was seized by security forces, this youth was obsessed with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” Chief Security Minister Wiranto told reporters, referring to the leader of the Middle Eastern militant group.

Mr Wiranto, who goes by one name, said a note was found in the attacker’s backpack that said “I love al-Baghdadi” but added the suspect had no known links to existing militant networks.

There were no serious casualties in the latest attempted attack, which happened in a church in Medan, northern Sumatra. Police said the attacker had attempted to stab the priest, who suffered minor injuries, and detonate a crude homemade bomb but failed after being restrained by other worshippers.

The suspect, identified as 17-year-old Ivan Armadi is under interrogation.