Obbana Rajah
According to Indonesia’s National Police Chief Tito Karnavian, a family of suicide bombers was responsible for the latest in a series of suicide bombings in Surabaya, the capital of East Java province.
He said that the attack was carried out by a family of five. However, the eight year old child amongst them survived.
National Police Chief Tito said that the attacks were religiously motivated and that the attackers received instruction from the headquarters of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The family blew themselves up at a checkpoint outside the Surabaya police headquarters on Monday morning, injuring at least 10 people. The National Police Chief added that the bomb was named the “Mother of Satan” and was made by the mixing of explosive and reactive chemicals.
In a Facebook post, Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen urges Singaporeans and said that, “The SAF will thwart and deal with such attacks but to counter the threat of terrorism, all sectors of our society must stand up for unity amid racial and religious harmony”.
He wrote: “The bombings in Surabaya this morning underscore the message that security agencies here have repeatedly cautioned – terrorism is a clear and present danger. It takes a powerful indoctrination to get parents to use themselves and worse of all, their children, to commit acts of suicide and kill innocent people.”
He added, “As twisted and evil as this is, we cannot ignore the power of this false ideology. The SAF will thwart and deal with such attacks but to counter the threat of terrorism, all sectors of our society must stand up for unity amid racial and religious harmony. Our peaceful and harmonious way of life is an answer to their perverted ideology.”
obbana@theindependent.sg