Police in Bali are stepping up security measures in the province’s port of entries and places of worship following yesterday’s suicide bombing in Makassar, South Sulawesi, which injured 19 people and killed its two perpetrators.
Related — IS-linked radical group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah behind Makassar cathedral attack: police
“[We are] tightening security in ports of entry and exit across Bali, [such as] in Padangbai and Gilimanuk Ports,” Bali Police spokesman Syamsi said.
“We have also stationed police officers in churches to guard the worshipping activities among Christians.”
In addition, police are also stepping up security across their own stations.
Yesterday’s blast took place at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Makassar during a Palm Sunday Mass, which marked the first day of the Easter Holy Week.
In 2018, IS-linked suicide bombers targeted three churches in the East Java capital Surabaya, killing 28 people and injuring 50 others. The incidents spurred the government to pass new anti-terrorism legislation that gave authorities expanded powers to prevent terrorist acts and punish perpetrators.
Indonesia’s deadliest terrorist attack took place in Bali in 2002, when Islamist militants killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.
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