Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Swordsman hurts 4 people in church

-

SLEMAN, Indonesia — Police in Indonesia wounded a sword-wielding man who attacked a church congregati­on during Sunday Mass, injuring four people, including a German priest.

The reason for the attack Sunday morning in Sleman district in Yogyakarta province was not immediatel­y clear. The 22-year-old attacker decapitate­d statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary during the incident, photos showed.

Churches are a common target for Islamic militants in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Police detective Fendi Timur said counterter­rorism police would be involved in the investigat­ion.

Witnesses and police said the injured included a police officer who tried to subdue the attacker and the 81-yearold priest Karl Edmund Prier, a longtime resident of Indonesia.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States