North Sumatra Police confirmed on Sunday that the suspect in the attack St. Yosep Catholic Church in Medan did not act alone and may have had connections to the Islamic State (IS) movement.
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Priest Albert Pandiangan was holding a mass in the city of Medan on the western island of Sumatra when a young man approached him and stabbed his left arm, said local chief detective Nur Fallah.
National police spokesman Major General Boy Rafli Ama has said the motive for the attack at the Roman Catholic church dedicated to St Yoseph was not clear.
“The pastor managed to escape as the congregation managed to restrain (the attacker)”, Ginting said, adding that none of the congregation members were hurt.
He then stood up and the bomb exploded in his backpack, injuring himself before running towards the priest and attacking him, the spokeswoman said.
The priest suffered slight injuries and has been taken to hospital for treatment.
An eyewitness, Markus Harianto Manullan, said the assailant wore a jacket and carried a bag.
In recent years there have been a number of attacks on religious minorities and others in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.
A source close to the investigation said the police have confiscated several items, including a backpack, a knife, and a note with “La ilaha illallah” in Arabic written on it which means “there is no God but Allah”.
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Earlier this year in January, a shootout and bomb attack took place in the capital of Jakarta, killing eight people, including four IS-linked insurgents.
