Suicide bomber injures 14 at Indonesia church

Sep 25, 2011, 7:42 GMT

Jakarta - A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a church in the city of Solo on Indonesia's Java island on Sunday, injuring 14 worshippers, police and hospital staff said.

The bomb exploded just as the worshippers were coming out of the Bethel Bible Church after attending a Sunday service, leaving at least four people injured, police said.

'The perpetrator blew himself up in front of the church,' said national police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar.

A nurse at the Dr Oen Hospital said 14 injured were brought in but some had been allowed to go home. One person sustained a serious head injury and required surgery, she said.

A witness said she believed the suspected bomber was inside the church during the service.

'I was inside the church saw bright light that accompanied the explosion,' Fani, one of the worshippers, told Metro TV. 'People screamed.'

Television footage showed the body of the man believed to be the bomber lying in the church compound.

The government immediately condemned the attack.

'Authorities must swiftly look for the perpetrators and uncover their network' said Djoko Suyanto, the minister for security, political and legal affairs.

'Whatever the excuse, the act cannot be justified,' he said.

It was the second suicide attack on a place of worship this year.

In April, a man blew himself up at a police mosque in West Java province, injuring 30 worshippers.

Indonesia has been hit by a string of bomb attacks blamed on Islamist militants since 2000, notably the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.