Indonesian church attacker 'obsessed' with IS leader, says senior minister

Jakarta: A knife-wielding Indonesian teen who tried to attack a priest at a church during a Sunday service was "obsessed" with extremist group IS, a senior minister said on Monday.
Indonesian authorities are increasingly worried about a resurgence in radicalism in the world's largest Muslim-majority country, driven in part by a new generation of militants inspired by IS.
"From the cellphone that was seized by security forces, this youth was obsessed with Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi," Chief Security Minister Wiranto told reporters, referring to the leader of the militant group.
Wiranto, who goes by one name, said a note was found in the attacker's backpack that said "I love Al Baghdadi" but added the suspect had no known links to existing militant networks.
There were no serious casualties in the latest attempted attack, which happened in a church in Medan, northern Sumatra. Police said the attacker had attempted to stab the priest, who suffered minor injuries, and detonate a crude home-made bomb but failed after being restrained by other worshippers.
The suspect, identified as 17-year-old Ivan Armadi is under interrogation. Police seized bomb-making materials from his home after the attack and said he had learned to assemble a bomb through online research.
Counter-terrorism officials have said there are hundreds of IS sympathisers in Indonesia. The country suffered its first IS-linked attack in January, when four people died in a gun and bomb assault.