Church Attacks Carried Out by Family of 6 Suicide Bombers

Including 2 young daughters, ages 9 and 12
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted May 13, 2018 8:30 AM CDT
Church Attacks Carried Out by Family of 6 Suicide Bombers
Members of police bomb squad inspect wreckage of motorcycles at the site where an explosion went off outside a church in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, May 13, 2018. Almost simultaneous attacks targeted churches in Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya.   (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

Three suicide bombings on Indonesian churches on Sunday carried an unusual twist: They were the work of a single family that included young children, reports the New York Times. The AP reports that at least seven people were killed in the Surabaya explosions, as well as the six family members. The father, who the Times names only as Dita, dropped mother Puji Kuswanti and their 12- and 9-year-old daughters at the Christian Church of Diponegoro. "At first officers blocked them in front of the churchyard, but the woman ignored them and forced her way inside. Suddenly she hugged a civilian then (the bomb) exploded," a witness said.

Officials say 18-year-old son Yusuf and 16-year-old son Alif attacked the Santa Maria Church on motorcycle, with a witness telling the AP that they "(forced) their way into the churchyard." The father attacked the Surabaya Center Pentecostal Church in a Toyota minivan. Three unexploded bombs were found on the various scenes, and were detonated by bomb squads.

(More suicide bombing stories.)

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