Indonesia terrorist attacks

This item appears on page 18 of the July 2018 issue.

Two families carried out suicide bombings in Indonesia in May.

On May 13, a family of six committed bombings in the city of Surabaya in the state of East Java. A mother and her two daughters, aged 9 and 12, attacked one church, while the father and their two sons attacked two other churches. At least 18 people were killed, including the bombers, and more than 40 were injured.

Another bomb exploded in an apartment that same evening, killing a family of three. Investigators believe the family was planning a similar attack but unintentionally detonated their bomb at their home.

The next day, a family of five riding on two motorcycles targeted a police station in Surabaya, detonating their bombs at a checkpoint. Four of the bombers were killed, with only the youngest daughter surviving, while six civilians and four police officers were injured.

The father in the May 14 attack was identified as the leader of the local branch of Jemaa Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an Indonesian Islamist group inspired by Daesh (ISIL).