Eight people are dead and 45 injured after a bomb full of nails and ball bearings exploded Saturday morning in Palu, the BBC reports.

It happened in a Christian part of the town, at a pork stand.

Authorities blame Muslim militants for this attack and recent violence. Twelve people reportedly have been arrested in the wake of the blast.

Police also defused another bomb in the area.

Violence between Christians and Muslims killed nearly 1,000 people in 2000 and 2001.

Two bombs killed 20 people in May this year and three Christian schoolgirls were beheaded in October.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, the BBC said, but the population in many parts of Central Sulawesi province is split between Muslims and Christians.