Updated: March 2, 2021
A father, his wife and their four children bombed three churches in Indonesia on Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 40 others.
National police chief Tito Karnavian was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that while the father detonated a car bomb, his two sons aged 18 and 16 used a motorcycle for their attack. The mother and her two daughters wore explosives.
He said the family had returned to Indonesia from Syria, where until recently the Islamic State group controlled significant territory.
Police said the coordinated suicide bombings carried out by members of the same family against three churches occurred in Indonesia’s second-largest city of Surabaya.
At least seven people died at the churches along with the six family members, the youngest of whom were girls aged 9 and 12. Another 41 people were injured.
Indonesia’s president condemned the attacks as “barbaric.”
The United Nations secretary-general condemned the suicide bombings.
AP quoted a spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying in a statement that he was “appalled” at reports that children were used in Sunday’s attacks.
The statement issued Sunday offered condolences to the families of victims and said the U.N. stands by Indonesia’s efforts to fight extremism and prevent terrorism.
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