Indonesia probes church bombing

Indonesian police investigated an explosion outside a church in East Kalimantan in central parts of the country on Sunday that killed one child and injured three other children, police spokesman disclosed here on Monday.

National Police Spokesman Boy Rafly Amar said that a total of 15 people had been arrested after the blast in front of the Oikumene Sengkotek church in the provincial capital of Samarinda, Boy said.

The investigators were probing their links with Juhanda, the perpetrator of the strike, he said.

"We guess they have relations and had communicated with Juhanda," he said at the police headquarters.

So far the status of the arrested persons remained as witness, but they would undergo police investigation for seven days before the police make a decision whether to raise the level of their status to suspects, said Boy.

In a statement, President Joko Widodo on Monday asked the police chief to take firm actions and thoroughly investigate the attacker, who has been arrested.

Indonesia has been frequently attacked by IS militants who target churches, police, Westerners and their facilities in the country, leaving scores of casualties. Editem