Suspected suicide bombing at Indonesia church

Several people in the Indonesian city of Makassar were wounded after a suspected suicide bombing outside of a Catholic church on Sunday.

Indonesian national police said two people were suspected of carrying out the attack, after local police reported the bomber acted alone.

Local police also said that a congregation had been inside the church at the time of the explosion, as they celebrated the first day of the Easter Holy Week.

Video from the scene showed damaged cars parked nearby and the church cordoned off by police.

A priest at the church told local media that a suspected bomber tried to enter the church grounds on a motorbike, but was stopped by a security guard.

The country's top counterterrorism official described Sunday's events as an act of terrorism.

Police did not say who might be responsible for the attack, and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

A similar suicide attack on churches in 2018 left more than 30 dead in the city of Surabaya.

Police blamed that on an extremist group inspired by the Islamic State.

The country has seen a recent resurgence in militant violence, with scores of Indonesians travelling to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic State.