Bombing targeting church in Indonesia leaves 20 people injured.

 

A police officer stands guard near the site of the bombing. USA Today/AP.

A bombing targeting a church in Indonesia leaves 20 people injured. USA Today. The Palm Sunday attack was carried out by two suicide bombers who had attempted to enter the church. The bombers, one male and one female, were on motorcycle and were confronted by guards before they blew themselves up, hurting guards and worshipers. Authorities believe that Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, an ISIS affiliate, is responsible for the attack. The group was also responsible for another bombing in 2018. 

My Comment:

Another major terror attack targeting Christians during Holy Week. This one failed but it had the potential to kill quite a few people. It is very fortunate that the guards were on point and stopped these bombers from entering the church as they probably could have killed dozens. 

Of course it's pretty sad that guards are needed at churches in Indonesia in the first place. But ISIS and other terror groups have long targeted churches. Part of it is because of religion. Radical Muslims are supposed to accept Christians as long as they accept an inferior position, but in practice groups like ISIS commit genocide against Christians regularly. 

It's also no coincidence that this attack occurred on Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week, which is one of the most important holidays in the Christian Church. It's a sign of total disrespect to attack during this week. And it also means that the church was crowded.

The other factor is that churches make very good targets for terrorism. People are crowded together in a small enclosed area. This means that more damage than usual can be done by a suicide bombing like this. We have seen bombings like this that have left dozens dead. 

Despite recent attacks I am not sure that ISIS is really back. The Indonesian group is not a major group and is not a threat outside of Indonesia. There was the King Soopers attack but I don't know if ISIS has taken credit for that one yet. Compared to the middle of last decade ISIS is a spent force. But that doesn't mean that they aren't capable of attacks.

As for the the guards, I have to say they did really well here. It reminds me of the Paris attacks where security guards prevented an attempt to blow up a soccer stadium and assassinate French President François Hollande. These security guards paid a price since they were injured but I think they saved quit a few lives.