Surabaya hit with further attacks in wake of church bombings

Surabaya, Indonesia (CNN)A bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded at the gate to a police station in Surabaya on Monday, according to local police, the latest in a series of attacks that have rocked the Indonesian city in the past 24 hours.

The perpetrator rode the motorcycle into the main gateway of the police station when it exploded, East Java Police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera said. Four police officers and six civilians were injured in the attack and no group has yet claimed responsibility.

Officers block a road following an attack at the local police headquarters in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.

On Sunday, a husband and wife used their four children in deadly suicide attacks on three Christian churches, killing seven people in Surabaya.

In those attacks, the family's two young daughters, aged 9 and 12, were present when their mother detonated one of the bombs, and the couple's two teenage sons carried out a separate attack on another church.

A government handout image shows a bomb blast at Surabaya Pantekosta (Pentecostal) Center Church on May 13, 2018 in Surabaya, Indonesia.

In a separate incident later that night that police also called a terrorist attack, a bomb exploded at the Wonocolo low-cost housing complex in the city.

The bomb exploded prematurely, instantly killing a woman and her 17-year-old daughter, Barung Mangera said, adding police later found the father of the family in the house holding a detonator, and shot him.

The family's 12-year-old son took his two younger sisters to the Bhayangkara Police hospital, he said.

ISIS claims church attacks

ISIS said it carried out the church attacks that injured a further 41 people, although authorities have not confirmed the claim.

Investigators believe the parents belong to Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, a terrorist group that lends its support to ISIS in Indonesia, according to Tito Karnavian, Indonesia's top-ranking police officer.

In that attack, Dita Sopriyanto drove a van to the Indonesian Christian Church and dropped off his wife Puji Kuswat and their 9- and 12-year-old daughters, Karnavian said.

The wife and daughters went inside and detonated a bomb, Karnavian said.

The father then drove the van to the city's Pentecost Central Church, where, from inside the vehicle, he detonated another bomb in front of the church.

At the same time, the general said, Sopriyanto's two sons drove motorcycles to Santa Maria Catholic Church, where they, too, detonated bombs. According to CCTV footage, the bomb at that church went off at 7:08 a.m. Sunday. (8:08 p.m. ET Saturday).

'Appalled'

The United Nations Secretary-General condemned the three terrorist attacks on the Surabaya churches. Through his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, Secreatry General Antonio Guterres said that he was "appalled at reports that children were used to participate in the attacks," and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

"(The Secretary General) reiterates the support of the United Nations to the Government and people of Indonesia in their efforts to fight and prevent terrorism and violent extremism, including through the promotion of pluralism, moderation and tolerance," the statement said.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country. More than 82% of its roughly 261 million people follow Islam. Almost 10% of the population is Christian.

Indonesia has long struggled with domestic terrorist groups, particularly the al-Qaeda affiliated group Jemaah Islamiyah, which claimed responsibility for 11 attacks between 2000 and 2010, including the deadly 2002 Bali bombings that left more than 200 people dead and hundreds injured, many of them tourists.

In recent years, Indonesia has been confronting ISIS attempts to recruit members in the country.

CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, and journalists Masrur Jamaluddin and Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com