Indonesian couple carried out Philippine bombing

Police say they believe an Indonesian couple carried out the suicide bombing of a cathedral in the southern Philippines in January that killed more than 20 people.

Indonesia’s National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told a news conference Tuesday that an Islamic militant arrested in East Kalimantan last month had confessed that he’d recruited Rullie Rian Zeke and his wife, Ulfah Handayani Saleh, for the Philippine bombing.

Prasetyo said the pair were part of an Indonesian militant group linked to the Islamic State group.

The Indonesian couple’s alleged role in the bombing of the Roman Catholic cathedral in Jolo highlights links between militants across Southeast Asia at a time when authorities are concerned about Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine citizens who joined IS in Syria and Iraq returning to the region.

Source: Associated Press