Suicide bomber hits Indonesian mosque: report

Several people were wounded in a suspected suicide bomb attack during Friday prayers, at a mosque in a police compound in Indonesia's West Java province.

2 min read

Published 15 April 2011 7:32pm

Updated 23 August 2013 5:14pm

Source: AFP

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A suicide bomber blew himself up in an Indonesian mosque Friday, injuring 26 people in militants' first attack on a mosque in the predominantly Muslim country, officials said.

<span>&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;small&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;amp;amp;amp;source=embed&amp;amp;amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;amp;amp;geocode=&amp;amp;amp;amp;q=Cirebon,+West+Java,+Indonesia&amp;amp;amp;amp;aq=0&amp;amp;amp;amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;amp;amp;amp;sspn=49.444078,84.462891&amp;amp;amp;amp;safe=high&amp;amp;amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;amp;amp;hq=&amp;amp;amp;amp;hnear=Cirebon,+West+Java,+Indonesia&amp;amp;amp;amp;t=h&amp;amp;amp;amp;ll=-4.740675,108.632813&amp;amp;amp;amp;spn=21.76631,19.731445&amp;amp;amp;amp;z=5&amp;amp;amp;amp;iwloc=A" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;"&amp;amp;gt;View Larger Map&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/small&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;They were rushed to hospitals with wounds to their arms, legs and torsos, said Yeni Rahmawati, a hospital spokeswoman, after the blast in Cirebon, West Java.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Indonesia, is a secular, predominantly Muslim nation of 237 million and has been hit by a string of al-Qaeda-linked terrorist attacks since the 2002 bombings on two crowded Bali nightclubs.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Many of the 260 people killed in those attacks have been foreign tourists.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;In the last year, however, militants seeking to carve out an Islamic state have said the country's moderate leaders and security forces would be their main targets.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;They've attacked several police posts since then, but never a mosque.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;West Java police chief, Major General Suparni Parto, told El-Shinta radio the mangled body of the suicide bomber was found at the scene.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;The man was apparently wearing a suicide vest beneath his black Islamic robes and sitting among dozens of worshippers when he set off the bomb, said Agus Riyanto, a police spokesman.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;The bomber shouted "God is Great" as he detonated his device, authorities said.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Though militants in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq have not hesitated to attack mosques where their enemies have gathered, this represents a first for Indonesia.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;"It's really worrisome," said Mardigu Wawiek Prasantyo, an intelligence analyst, noting that the bombing during Friday holy prayers points to a "hardening of militants".&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Most of Indonesia's 210 million Muslims are moderates with no tolerance of violence.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;</span>

Suicide bomber hits Indonesian mosque: report

Several people were wounded in a suspected suicide bomb attack during Friday prayers, at a mosque in a police compound in Indonesia's West Java province.

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Suicide bomber hits Indonesian mosque: report

Several people were wounded in a suspected suicide bomb attack during Friday prayers, at a mosque in a police compound in Indonesia's West Java province.

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