Documents violence · crimes against children · suicide — written to inform, not to shock.
On the morning of 13 May 2018, coordinated suicide bombings struck three churches in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city: Immaculate Saint Mary Catholic Church, Indonesia Christian Church (GKI), and Surabaya Central Pentecostal Church (GPPS). The first blast occurred at SMTB Church shortly after morning mass, killing a child and a security volunteer, Aloysius Bayu Rendra Wardhana, who had tried to stop the bomber. Minutes later, a woman wearing a niqab and carrying explosives, accompanied by her two daughters, detonated a bomb at GKI after security officer Yesaya Bayang attempted to block her entry; he was critically injured. At GPPS, a car bomb driven into the church compound caused the most destructive blast of the day, destroying vehicles and injuring many. Authorities said 28 people were killed across the day's attacks, including the bombers, and about 50 were injured.
That evening, a fourth explosion occurred at an apartment complex in Wonocolo, Sidoarjo, when police arrived to raid a unit; the bombs inside detonated, killing three adults while three children in the same family survived. Police said the family may have been preparing further church attacks. The next day, 14 May, two suicide bombers attacked a checkpoint at Surabaya Police headquarters, killing four bombers and wounding several police officers and civilians; an eight-year-old girl, believed to be the bombers' daughter, was found alive amid the aftermath.
Indonesian police identified three families as responsible for the attacks: the family of Dita Supriyanto and Puji Kuswati (church bombings), the family of Anton Febryanto and Puspita Sari (Sidoarjo apartment), and the family of Tri Murtono and Tri Ernawati (police headquarters). Police said children as young as nine participated, marking what authorities described as the first time in Indonesian history that entire families, including young children, were used in suicide attacks. Some surviving children later said they had resisted their parents' attempts to involve them.
The Indonesian National Police attributed the bombings to Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), a local Islamic State-linked network, with Amaq News Agency claiming responsibility on behalf of ISIL. Officials said the attacks were ordered in retaliation for the imprisonment of JAD leader Aman Abdurrahman and followed the deadly Mako Brimob prison standoff days earlier. Nationwide raids and arrests followed, with dozens of suspects killed or detained over the following weeks. A related attack, in which men wielding swords assaulted the Riau Regional Police headquarters in Pekanbaru on 16 May, was described by police as potentially linked to and funded by the Surabaya cell.
The Indonesian government responded by tightening security nationwide, raising terror alert levels, and passing a strengthened anti-terrorism law on 25 May 2018. The attacks were widely condemned domestically and internationally, and were described as the deadliest terror attack in Indonesia since the 2002 Bali bombings.
Key facts
- Victims
- Aloysius Bayu Rendra Wardhana, Yesaya Bayang
- Date
- 2018
- Location
- Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
2018-05-08
Standoff begins at Mobile Brigade Corps headquarters in Depok, resulting in the deaths of five police officers.
2018-05-13
Suicide bombings occur at three churches in Surabaya (SMTB, GKI, GPPS), killing 28 people including the bombers and injuring around 50 others.
2018-05-13
A fourth bomb explodes at an apartment complex in Wonocolo, Sidoarjo, killing three adults; three children survive.
2018-05-14
Two suicide bombers attack the Surabaya Police headquarters checkpoint, killing four bombers and wounding police and civilians.
2018-05-15
A shootout occurs between Detachment 88 personnel and a suspected affiliated group in Manukan Kulon, Surabaya.
2018-05-16
Sword-wielding attackers assault Riau Regional Police headquarters in Pekanbaru; police say the attack may be linked to the Surabaya cell.
2018-05-19
A security officer injured in the church bombings succumbs to his injuries.
2018-05-25
The Indonesian House of Representatives passes a strengthened anti-terrorism law.
2018-06-01
Police report 28 people killed in total and announce the arrest of 37 additional suspects nationwide.
Best coverage
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People
Tito Karnavian
LAW ENFORCEMENTChief of the Indonesian National Police who led the investigation and public briefings on the bombings.
citation on file
Aloysius Bayu Rendra Wardhana
VICTIMSecurity volunteer killed while trying to stop a bomber from entering SMTB Church.
citation on file
Anton Febryanto
CHARGEDIdentified by police as the father in a family linked to the Sidoarjo apartment bombing, planning further church attacks; shot and killed by police.
citation on file
Dita Supriyanto
CHARGEDIdentified by police as leader of the family that carried out the three church bombings; died in the third (GPPS) attack he was responsible for.
citation on file
Puspita Sari
CHARGEDIdentified by police as the mother in the family linked to the Sidoarjo apartment bombing; killed in the explosion.
citation on file
Aman Abdurrahman
CHARGEDLeader of JAD/JAT in Indonesia whose imprisonment police said motivated the attacks; was in prison for role in terrorist training in Aceh.
citation on file
Tri Murtono
CHARGEDIdentified by police as the father in the family that carried out the Surabaya Police headquarters bombing; killed in the attack.
citation on file
Yesaya Bayang
VICTIMSecurity officer critically injured, later died from injuries sustained while trying to stop a bomber at GKI Diponegoro.
citation on file
Budi Satrio
CHARGEDSuspected terrorist shot and killed by police during a raid in Masanganwetan, Sidoarjo following the bombings.
citation on file
Puji Kuswati
CHARGEDIdentified by police as the mother in the family responsible for the church bombings; died detonating a bomb at GKI, described as Indonesia's first female suicide bomber.
citation on file
Tri Ernawati
CHARGEDIdentified by police as the mother in the family that carried out the Surabaya Police headquarters bombing; killed in the attack.
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- In May 2018, three families carried out a series of suicide bombings at three churches, an apartment complex, and a police headquarters in and around Surabaya, Indonesia, killing 28 people including the bombers and injuring around 50 others.
- Where did the crime happen?
- Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved.
Sources
- Surabaya bombingswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — BBC Newsnews · BBC News · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — The Sydney Morning Heraldnews · The Sydney Morning Herald · 2026-07-07
