Java family that bombed churches seemed normal, say neighbours

Seemingly ordinary: Passers-by peeking inside the house of Dita who, along with his family, carried out the church attacks in Surabaya on Sunday. — AP

SURABAYA: The Muslim family that carried out suicide attacks on three churches in Indonesia’s second-largest city, killing a dozen people as well as its two young daughters, lived comfortably in an upper-middle class suburb and was on friendly terms with a Christian neighbour.

The coordinated bombings on Sunday, followed on Monday by a suicide attack by another family on police headquarters in Surabaya, have horrified Indonesians who typically see their Muslim-majority country as diverse and tolerant.