Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Gomar Gultom, head of the Indonesian Council of Churches, described the attack as a “cruel incident” as Christians were celebrating Palm Sunday, and urged people to remain calm and trust the authorities. 'We’ve been abandoned': Stranded Australians are taking their fight to come home to the United Nations, 'Easter is good to go': Brisbane's coronavirus lockdown lifts as Queensland records one new local case, Bipartisan inquiry demands Australia 'must do better' in response to domestic violence. By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS. A bomb believed to have been detonated by two suicide attackers exploded outside a Catholic cathedral in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday morning, wounding at least 20 and killing the assailants. They carried out the attack with a pressure cooker bomb,” Mr Listyo said. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Myanmar's junta committed 'blind and murderous' violence, says French FM. At various times and for various reasons, communities have been manipulated into sanctifying those “martyred” in suicide bombings and have become a source of new recruits. Around 20 suspected JAD members were arrested in January. SBS acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia. Rescue workers evacuating the bodies of victims of a terrorist train bombing near Atocha Station, Madrid, March 11, 2004. The growth in suicide bombing has also been linked with the rise of militant religious-inspired terrorist violence. Associate professor of irregular warfare, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., U.S. The use of suicide bombing has grown for three primary reasons. In conclusion, Asad examines our emotional response to suicide (including suicide terrorism) and the horror it invokes. One compelling explanation for the role of religion involves justification and persuasion. Contemporary suicide bombing began in 1981 in Lebanon. 'Suicide bombing' Earlier on Sunday, Indonesia's chief security minister said the attack was a suicide mission. An Indonesian cathedral was rocked by a suicide bombing on Sunday as people inside celebrated the start of Holy Week. An Indonesian cathedral was rocked by a suicide bombing Sunday that wounded 20 as worshippers celebrated the start of Holy Week, an attack slammed by the country's president as an "act of terror". Accessible and stable high explosives such as trinitrotoluene (TNT) have been available for more than a century, but suicide bombing is a more recent phenomenon. Deadly Indonesia church suicide bombings 'committed by one family'. In this way the act of suicide bombing becomes not a social or religious aberration but rather a sacred duty and obligation. Indeed, because suicide bombers have the ability to move, avoid security measures, and choose their targets, they have been likened to a human “smart bomb” (or “poor man’s smart bomb”). CHRISTIANS ATTACKED: At least 20 wounded in suicide bombing in Indonesia on Palm Sunday. Therefore, for groups determined to spread terror, suicide bombing is much more cost-effective than other tactics such as hostage taking, which requires considerably greater investment in resources, planning, and training. Makassar, the biggest city on the island of Sulawesi, reflects the religious makeup of Indonesia, which is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country but has a substantial Christian minority, among other religions. However, it achieved worldwide notoriety in 1983, first with an attack against the U.S. embassy in Beirut that killed 63 people and then with simultaneous car bombings of U.S. and French military barracks, also in Beirut, that killed 299 more. Suicide bombing, an act in which an individual personally delivers explosives and detonates them to inflict the greatest possible damage, killing himself or herself in the process. Two suspected suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a Catholic church in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, during a Palm Sunday Mass, wounding at least 19 people. As a means to justify indiscriminate killing and to overcome the natural aversion against taking one’s own life, militant groups (and the religious leaders and interpreters who speak for them) use faith to elevate their causes to religious crusades. This excludes attacks where the bomber's survival is extremely unlikely but is theoretically feasible. For instance, suicide bombers often wear their explosives underneath their clothing, carry them in backpacks, or even hide them in bicycle frames. Source: ABC News. The mass was finishing when the attackers detonated at least one device outside the church. Baghdad suicide bombings highlight IS group's enduring threat. An Australian Defence Force inquiry found the suicide bomb blast that nearly killed David Savage in Afghanistan was an unexpected event. The group is also believed to have been involved in a bomb attack on a Philippine church in 2019 that killed more than 20 people. Hamas's suicide bombings of Israeli targets (from 1994–1997 there were 14 suicide attacks killing 159—not all of which were attributed to Hamas) "were widely" credited for the popularity among Israelis of the hardline Netanyahu, who—like HAMAS—was a staunch opponent of the Oslo accords, but an even stauncher enemy of HAMAS. A suicide attack targeted a Catholic church on Indonesia’s South Sulawesi Island on Sunday. https://www.britannica.com/topic/suicide-bombing, Academia - The phenomenon of suicide bombing, wreckage from a London suicide bombing in 2005, car bombings of U.S. and French military barracks, bus damaged from 2012 suicide bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. On Suicide Bombing is an original and provocative analysis critiquing the work of intellectuals from both the left and the right. A bus damaged by a suicide bomb attack that killed several people in Burgas, Bulgaria, in July 2012. Suicide bombings in Lebanon village kill five on Syrian border. Another broad trend, noticeable in the numerous suicide bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been the recruitment of individuals who are physically or mentally ill, impoverished, suggestible, or alienated in some way from their society. Ask Amazon Alexa for the latest SBS News or listen to SBS Radio. Middle East. The two suspected bombers are believed to be the only fatalities in an attack described as a 'cruel incident' as Christians were celebrating Palm Sunday. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Follow SBS News to join in the conversation and never miss the latest live updates. Suicide bombing finds its origins in nineteenth century Russia, and has been employed from Japan to the Middle East to Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the attack, according to Vatican Media. Indonesian media quoted the South Sulawesi Regional Police spokesperson, Kombes E. Zulfan, who described the explosion as a suicide bombing. Omissions? Second, suicide bombing generates publicity. Bomb sizes have ranged from less than 100 grams (just over three ounces) in the case of the so-called underwear bomber, who attempted to bring down an airliner in the United States in 2009, to more than one ton in a car bombing that killed more than 200 people in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002. Though fighting evil is an old concept, it has found new and disturbing expressions in our contemporary "war on terror." 14 injured in suicide bomb attack outside Makassar church 28th March 2021 Chief of the Public Relations Division at the National Police Headquarters Inspector General Argo Yuwono (right) during a press briefing on suicide bomb attack outside Cathedral Church in Makassar, South Sulawesi on Sunday (March 28, 2021). The damage inflicted by suicide bombings is both physical and psychological, and to inflict maximum damage the bombers rely heavily on the element of surprise. Is extremely unlikely but is theoretically feasible that killed several people in,... 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