© AP Photo/Masyudi S. FirmansyahPolice officers inspect the area near a church where an explosion went off in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, March 28, 2021. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a packed Roman Catholic cathedral on Indonesia's Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, wounding a number of people, police said.
Indonesian police, who are conducting an investigation with the anti-terror unit, reported that the two suspected bombers both died in the incident. No other deaths have been reported.
Among those injured include a security guard, who tried to stop the two suspects from entering the church, which was holding a service for Palm Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
Rev. Wilhelmus Tulak, a priest at the church, said the blast occurred just after the service, and the noise went off around 10:30 a.m local time. Congregants were walking out of the church with another group coming in when the blast went off.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed his condolences for the victims and vowed that the government will cover all costs of medical treatment. He ordered the national police chief to investigate the attack and crack down on any militant network that may have played a role.
"I call on people to remain calm while worshipping because the state guarantees you can worship without fear," Widodo said.The attack comes as the Muslim-majority country remains on high alert after the December arrest of a major southeast Asian militant group.
Comment: The moment of the blast was caught on a CCTV camera.
A video from the scene shows debris scattered near the gate at the building's side entrance.
Indonesian media quoted the South Sulawesi Regional Police spokesperson, Kombes E. Zulfan, who described the explosion as a suicide bombing. One of the bombers was identified as a member of a group involved in a militant attack in the Philippines in 2018, police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo later told reporters.
National police spokesperson Argo Yuwono later told reporters that two suspected perpetrators were riding a motorbike as they tried to enter the church. He added that a charred vehicle and human remains were found at the scene. Overall, 14 people were hospitalized, according to Yuwono.
Wilhelmus Tulak, a priest at the church, told a local TV station that a parking attendant was burned when he tried to stop the attack.
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