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Suicide-Bombers in Bali

 

Suicide-bombers staged blasts in Bali on October 1, killing at least 22 and wounding more than 100. A chilling video showed one of the bombers walking into a restaurant packed with holiday-makers, before exploding in a ball of fire. “This is a suicide-bombing. This is our intention for showing this video,” Bali police Chief I Made Mangku Pastika said at a press conference where the footage was aired.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on October 2, visited the sites where near-simultaneous bombs ripped apart three crowded restaurants and vowed that terrorism would be met with a tougher national response. He warned that terrorists could be planning more strikes in the world’s highest Muslim-populated country. “The terrorists are still looking for soft targets,” he commented after viewing the blast rites.

President Yudhoyono was accompanied by Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian for part of the day, while Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was scheduled for a visit on October 3.

Pastika said that at least six people had conspired to carry out the blasts, including the three suicide-bombers who were identified only by the initials A, G, and S.

World leaders condemned the attacks and pledged to support Indonesia in its fight against terrorism. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and Chinese Foreign Minister Kong Quan sent their condolences. Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s comment was that the latest Bali bombings were an attempt to wreck Indonesia’s fledgling democracy.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) denounced the deadly bombings as terrorist acts which contradicted Islamic teachings.

Police hunt bombing suspects

The Balinese and National Park Police immediately set up an investigation team to work day and night on identifying the three suspected suicide-bombers. National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko Danu Ardanto said that identifying the men was crucial to finding the group behind the attack, which many feared had dealt the recent economic recovery of the resort island a severe blow. He confirmed that the carnage was the work of suicide-bombers, saying the absence of craters in the three blast sites at the Kafe Nyoman and Kafe Menega in Jimbaran and RAJA’s Bar and Restaurant in Kuta indicated that either ground or vehicle based explosives had been used.

Police have released pictures of the three suspected suicide-bombers to help in identification. The three were aged between 20 and 25 years old and were between 160 and 167 centimeters tall. Eighteen witnesses had been questioned by October 4, 12 of them from Jimbaran, but no arrest had been made.

 

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