Indonesia President Joko Widodo says attacks on Surabaya act of 'cowards'

A series of suicide attacks in the Indonesian city of Surabaya was the "act of cowards", President Joko Widodo said on Monday, pledging to push through a new anti-terrorism bill to combat networks of Islamist militants in the country.

"This is the act of cowards, indignified and barbaric," Widodo said on Metro TV, referring to attacks on three churches in the city on Sunday, as well as outside a police office on Monday.

Widodo said he would issue a regulation in lieu of a law next month to force through a new anti-terrorism bill if parliament failed to pass it.

Earlier on Monday, a vehicle exploded injuring several Indonesian police in Surabaya, a day after Islamist militants killed at least 13 people in suicide attacks on churches in the country's second-largest city, police said.

A suicide bomber on a motorbike wounded several Indonesian police outside a police building in Surabaya on Monday, a day after Islamist militants launched suicide attacks on churches in the country's second largest city, police said.

"Clearly it’s a suicide bombing," East Java police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera said."We can’t be open up all details yet because we are still identifying victims at the scene and the crime scene is being handled," he told a briefing.

The blast occurred at 8.50 am (0150 GMT) at checkpoint outside the building, he said. The full extent of casualties was unclear, he said.

CCTV footage shown on Indonesian television showed a motorbike arriving at a checkpoint next to a car and exploding as officers approached it.

On Sunday, Islamist militants killed at least 13 people in suicide attacks on three churches in Surabaya.