Surabaya: An Indonesian church on Monday remembered the victims of suicide bombings carried out by an IS-inspired family, one year on from the attacks that highlighted the extremist group’s global reach.
On May 13 last year, a family of six — including two girls aged nine and 12 — blew themselves up at the Santa Maria Catholic Church and two other churches in Surabaya during Sunday morning services, killing over a dozen congregants and wounding scores more.
The next day, a family who went to the same Koranic study group as the first attackers staged suicide bombings at a police station in Indonesia’s second-biggest city, wounding 10.
Several hundred people gathered at the Santa Maria church on Monday for a memorial prayer session and to hear survivor accounts of the bloodshed, which had raised fears that suicide bomber families could be a terrifying new modus operandi for IS.
“I have learned to move on and not be traumatised by the attacks because that’s what they (terrorists) want,” said Desmonda, a Christian woman who survived last year’s bombings.
IS claimed the Surabaya bombings and the families were linked to local extremist group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which supports IS.
Ines Andi, also attended Monday’s one-year anniversary, which comes weeks after IS claimed similar suicide attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250.
“As a Surabayan who was born and raised here, I was shocked to hear about the bombings,” the 27-year-old said.
“So I want to show my solidarity with the victims and hope that this will never happen again. People envy Indonesia for its diversity so we should preserve it,” she added. — AFP
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