I have recently been corresponding with a befogged leftist who thinks current jihad activity is attributable entirely to American foreign policy. Well, Christian churches in Indonesia, those bastions of American power and arrogance, were on the target list for this Christmas in Indonesia.
“Azahari was preparing Christmas terrorist attacks against churches,” from AsiaNews, with thanks to Michael Rose:
Jakarta (AsiaNews) –Azahari bin Husin and his terrorist group were preparing a series of bomb attacks against churches in Malang to coincide with the Christmas festivities, this according to police sources. Police are still trying to determine why Azahari had rented a villa in Batu, a mountainous tourist resort near the city of Malang (East Java), but intelligence sources believe that his “target was a very big church in Malang”.
Yesterday Azahari allegedly blew himself up to avoid capture by a special police anti-terrorist squad after a two-hour operation in Batu. And today police sources confirmed that the human remains that were tested were those of the wanted terrorist.
Malang is a tourist resort area 80 km south of Surabaya, capital of East Java province. It is home to many Catholic religious orders like the Verbites and Carmelites as well as a major seminary that received hundreds of seminarians from different orders to study philosophy and theology.
The St Joseph College Senior High School is another well known local Catholic institution and is run by Carmelite sisters. The Bishop’s residence is close to the school.
In addition to Catholic institutions, there are several Protestant ones.
Investigators believe that Azahari was planning a series of bomb attacks on Christmas night and during the festive season. Something similar had already occurred on Christmas day 2000 when bombs exploded in five churches in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities.