JAKARTA – At least 17 people were wounded in a suspected suicide bomb attack during Friday prayers at an mosque in a police compound in Indonesia’s West Java province, police said.
“We suspect it was a suicide bombing,” Indonesian police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam said.
“The blast occurred in Cirebon police headquarters compound during the beginning of Friday prayer,” he told reporters.
Police said one man, the suspected bomber, was killed in the explosion which happened at around 12:15 pm (0515 GMT).
“Hopefully there won’t be anything like this again. At least 17 people have been injured,” Alam said, adding that many of the wounded were police, including the Cirebon police chief.
An eyewitness named Anton said the bomber was wearing black clothes and praying.
“He was praying. From the third row, suddenly there was a blast. I was at the last row,” Anton was quoted as saying by Detik news website.
“It seems like a suicide bombing. And the person was killed,” he said.
The Muslim-majority country of 240 million people has been rocked by a series of bombings staged by regional terror network in recent years, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people.
The last significant bombing in Indonesia was carried out by two suicide attackers who killed seven people at two luxurious Jakarta hotels in July 2009.
It was believed to be the work of Malaysian terror mastermind Noordin Mohammad Top, who led a splinter group. Top was killed in September 2009.
Suspected suicide attack at Indonesian mosque
