Indonesian bomber linked to Jolo twin suicide attacks (WARNING: Graphic Content)

ZAMBOANGA CITY – At least 20 people were injured in a bomb blast outside a packed Catholic church on Sulawesi Island during Palm Sunday and Indonesian police said one of two suicide attackers was being linked to twin bombings in Sulu province in southern Philippines in January 2019.

Philippine military photos show the aftermath of the twin suicide attacks carried out by Indonesian couple Rullie Rian Zeke and Ulfah Handayani Saleh on Our Lady of Mount Carmel in downtown Jolo in Sulu province.

Indonesian media quoted National Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo as saying that one of the bombers had links with the two suicide attacks on a Catholic cathedral in Sulu’s capital town on Jolo. The attacks killed and wounded dozens of people, mostly soldiers guarding the church.

 

He said the attackers on Sulawesi were believed members of the pro-ISIS group called Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, which is also linked to the spate of suicide attacks in Indonesia the past three years. “One of the attackers was believed to have links to a church bombing in the Philippines,” he said.

 

One of two men riding tandem on a motorcycle tried to enter the church, but blew himself up after suspicious guards prevented them, according to reports, adding, four guards were among the wounded in the blast that killed the duo, but police said one of the bombers could be a woman based on the evidence collected from the blast scene.

 

It was unclear if anyone of the attackers was also a member of the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu which local police tagged as instrumental in the twin bombings carried out by Indonesian couple Rullie Rian Zeke and Ulfah Handayani Saleh that targeted the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in downtown Jolo.

Philippine military photos show the casualties of the suicide attacks.

 

The first bomb went off inside the church and the second blast occurred outside just as people were rushing out of the building. The bomb was hidden under the seat of a motorcycle parked outside the church.

 

There was no immediate statement from the Philippine military on Indonesia’s claim, but it was unknown how the bomber managed to escape from Sulu and returned to Sulawesi only to bomb the church.

 

Security is tight in Catholic churches in Sulu and Zamboanga City and Isabela City due to terror threats. (Mindanao Examiner, Reuters)

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