Indonesia car bomb kills four

Four people were killed and at least 20 injured when a car bomb exploded today in a Christian part of Ambon town in Indonesia.

It was the first serious violation of a ceasefire deal signed in February after years of Muslim-Christian violence that has killed thousands.

Following the explosion, a group of Christians broke into a government compound and set fire to a building, a police spokesman said.

Dozens of grieving relatives crowded into Ambon’s General Hospital searching for loved ones.

‘‘It was a powerful explosion,’’ said another police officer. ‘‘The perpetrators obviously had training.’’

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. However, Muslim militants from the paramilitary group Laskar Jihad have vowed to disrupt the peace process in the province of two million people.

Up to 9,000 died and tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes in two years of fighting in the archipelago, known as the Spice Islands during Dutch colonial rule.