ISIS attacker stabs priest after failing to detonate bomb at church in Indonesia
A suspected Islamic State suicide bomber resorted to stabbing an Indonesian Catholic priest after his botched attempt to bomb the church.
According to the Associated Press (AP), an 18-year-old attacker targeted St. Yoseph Church in Medan, North Sumatra during Sunday's mass service.
The unidentified teenage suspect took out his knife and ran towards 60-year-old Rev. Albert Pandiangan at the altar and caused a slightly injured on the priest's hand after realizing that the explosives in his backpack failed to detonate.
"He was fidgety the whole time. He also could not follow our ritual," a church member named Vero told The Jakarta Post.
The church member added that she saw the suspect take out some cables and connected them to what she suspected as a detonator and caused a small flare-up as the priest started his sermon.
"Because of the weakness of the explosion, he was caught, so he got up and went to the altar, going after the priest while wielding sharp weapons," she said.
The weak blast managed to create panic as most of the churchgoers immediately scurried out. A churchgoer named Randa said that not everyone dashed outside as some stayed behind to catch the attacker, who already slashed the priest's left arm. She added that two other people escaped after the people caught the suspect.
"Police are interrogating the perpetrator... and will search his house for any bomb-making materials," said Medan police spokeswoman Rina Sari Ginting in a statement that described the incident as a terrorist attack.
Local chief detective Nur Fallah likened the attacker's explosives to firecrackers while authorities reported that the suspect carried a piece of paper with a hand-drawn Islamic State symbol.
National police spokesman Maj Gen Boy Rafli Amar also said that the apprehended attacker told the police during interrogations that he didn't carry out the church attack on his own.
"Considering his young age, there has to be someone else who supports him. We are currently digging to seek his identity," The Guardian quoted National Counter-terrorism Agency Chief Suhardi Alius as saying.
