Indonesian authorities released the names of a couple whom they believe to have orchestrated a January terrorist attack on a cathedral in the Philippines.
Dedi Prasetyo, spokesman for Indonesia’s National Police, said last week that Rullie Rian Zeke and his wife Ulfah Handayani Saleh had detonated suicide bombs at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo.
Prasetyo said police discovered the identity of the bombers last month when they arrested an Islamic militant who recruited the Indonesian couple.
Before the husband and wife had underwent a government sponsored deradicalisation programme, they had been involved with Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, an outlawed Islamic extremist organisation allied to the Islamic State group.
Bombs
Two bombs exploded during Mass at the seat of the Vicariate Apostolic of Jolo on January 27, killing at least 20 and injuring at least 111 others.
The Filipino bishops’ conference condemned the attack as an “act of terrorism”. The Islamic State, which has ties to the local Muslim insurgent group Abu Sayyaf, claimed responsibility for the attack. Attacks by Abu Sayyaf against Catholics in the region are not uncommon.
The cathedral was rededicated on July 23 during a Mass said by Archbishop Gabrielle Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, along with Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, Archbishop Emeritus of Cotabato.
Jonathan Luciano, national director of Aid to the Church in Need in the Philippines, said the clerics offered words of hope and encouragement.