Explosion outside cathedral in Indonesia: media

An explosion occurred outside a cathedral in the Indonesian city of Makassar on Sunday, local media reported, in what a priest described as a suicide attack.

But the blast’s cause could not be independently verified by AFP and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

News footage showed cars near the building were damaged as police cordoned off the area.

The explosion at the city’s main Catholic cathedral happened just after Sunday services wrapped up, a man identified as the church’s pastor told Metro TV.

“We were finishing the service and people were going home when it happened,” the man, identified by his first name Willem, was quoted as saying.

The pastor said a congregant tried to prevent what he described as a “suicide bomber” from entering the church, adding that about 10 people were injured.

Churches have been targeted in the past by extremists in Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.

In 2018, a dozen people were killed when a family of suicide bombers blew themselves up at churches during Sunday services in Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya.