Families as terrorist units: Surabaya

The 'Islamic State' is defeated in Iraq and Syria. About 500 of its fighters have returned to Indonesia. Their major leader is Aman Abdurrahman (now in prison as head of JAD, Jamaah Ansharut Daulah). Last week activists of JAD killed in a Densus 88 (special police) prison in Jakarta five police officers (cutting throats) in an effort to have a personal meeting with Abdurrahman.
Last Sunday, 13 May, a family with four children carried out a brutal attack on three churches in Subaraya: the Catholic Church in Ngagel (Santa Maria tak Bernoda), a GKI and a Pentecostal Church. The father, Dota Upriarto brough his wife and two daughters to the GKI church, his two boys of 16 and 18 went to the Catholic church. He went himself to the Pentecostal church. All bombs exploded and the six members of the family died in the attacks. The mother and daughters arrived in burka at the church, but their bombs exploded before they could be stopped by the security officers.
 



 This picture was sent to me by Lies Marcoes Mustafsira, feminist Muslim theologian but not happy with this kind of 'emancipation'!

That same day a bomb exploded in an apartment in Sidoardjo, a small town close to Surabaya, killing husband, wife and a son of 17, busy preparing a bomb. Or was it their strategy to become 'marturs' on the spot? Three other children in another room survived the explosion. The following day, 14 May, a family of five arrived at the police station of Surabaya and their bombs exploded: only a girl of 8 years survived.
Newspapers speculate about the strategy: sleaping cells of IS, activated throug telephone calls from the Middle East  with this new 'family strategy' of making/becoming martyrs?
Lambertus Hurek, a retired journalist and active blogger in Surabaya went to the Catholic church and asked the priest whether he had already forgiven the terrorists? 'They are all victims as well', was the answer of the priest. They leave us in disarray. (see: Hurek.blogspot.com)