A sword-wielding attacker seriously injured a pastor and three other people when he ran into a church service in Sleman, on the island of Java, on Sunday 11 February.
The attacker was shot and wounded by police at the scene and then arrested. He was later identified as a 23-year-old Muslim university student who had attempted to travel to Syria to fight with Islamic State. The Indonesian national police chief stated, “He ended up launching his attack here.”
Eyewitnesses reported that the attacker damaged religious items inside the church, including Christian literature.
Churches in Indonesia have been the targets of multiple terror attacks in recent years. In December 2016 , a two-year-old girl who was playing outside the front of a church in Samarinda was killed when an attacker on a motorbike threw explosives at the building.
In December 2017 , anti-terror police detained 18 suspects with links to militant groups to reduce the risk of attacks over Christmas and New year.
Global Christian News https://www.globalchristiannews.org/article/pastor-and-three-others-injured-in-indonesia-church-sword-attack/
