At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of suicide bombs that targeted churches in Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya on Sunday.
"Nine people are dead and 40 are in hospital," East Java Police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera told reporters, adding that two police officers were among the injured.
The first attack struck a Sunday Mass at the Santa Maria Roman Catholic Church, killing four people, including the suspected bomber, Mangera told reporters at the scene. He said two police officers were among a total of 40 wounded.
It was followed by a second explosion minutes later at the Christian Church of Diponegoro that killed two people. Another two died in a third attack at the city's Pantekosta Church, Mangera said.
The official death toll climbed from an initial two killed and may include those who succumbed to injuries in hospital.
Images from one scene showed a body lying outside the gate of Santa Maria catholic church and members of Indonesia's bomb squad poring over the rubble.
Indonesia, which will begin the holy fasting month Ramadan this week, has been on high alert over attacks by militants, including some incidents claimed by the ISIS terrorist group.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the Sunday bombings.
The attacks come several days after five Indonesian police officers and an inmate were killed in clashes at a high-security jail on the outskirts of Jakarta.
ISIS claimed responsibility for that incident although police rejected its involvement.
The Southeast Asian nation's 260 million people includes significant numbers of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists but there are concerns over rising intolerance and militancy.
Indonesian police shot and wounded a man who attacked a church congregation in the town of Sleman with a sword during a Sunday mass in February.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
