Suicide bomber attacks church in Java, killing 2

A blast has occurred at a church in the Indonesian island of Java, killing 2 and injuring more than 20 people. One of the dead is the suspected suicide bomber.

The Indonesian security authorities say that there was an explosion near the entrance of a church in the central Javanese city of Solo around 11:00 AM on Sunday, shortly after a holiday service ended.

One of the dead is a man who appears to be around 30 years old. The local police suspect he detonated a device he had strapped to his body, given that his abdomen was badly injured.

Police are in the process of identifying the man and investigating the background of the attack.

Two foreign-affiliated hotels in Jakarta were attacked with explosives almost simultaneously in July in 2009, killing 9 people. Since that time no major terrorist attacks have occurred in the country until now.