Terrorist suspect attempted suicide bombing at Indonesian church

Indonesian police have arrested a teenager after he failed to detonate a homemade bomb at a church and attacked a priest with a knife.

Father Albert Pandiangan was injured in the incident. Photo: StraitsTimes

Father Albert Pandiangan was preaching today in the city of Medan in Sumatra island, western Indonesia, when a teenage boy approached him, stabbed him in the left arm,AFPquoted the chief investigatorNur Fallah said.

The attacker was carrying a homemade bomb in his backpack. "Someone tried to kill the priest by pretending to attend a church service and then tried to detonate something, like fireworks, but the fireworks didn't explode, only smoke," Fallah said.

The priest managed to escape the attacker as the congregation tried to subdue the suspect.The priest suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment. A photo of the attacker’s ID card circulating online shows he is Muslim. Police are questioning the suspect, who says he did not act alone. Worshippers also spotted the suspect carrying an Islamic State (IS) symbol.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has seen a series of militant attacks since the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.

Identity card and Arabic writing. Photo: StraitsTimes

According to VNE