Paras Indonesia, 10, 01 2005 @ 10:08 pm
Many Killed in Mutliple Bali Bombings
Roy Tupai
A series of bomb blasts hit the resort island of Bali on Saturday evening (1/10/05),
reportedly killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 50 others. Foreign tourists
are among the dead and injured.
At least two blasts occurred shortly before 7pm at a seafood restaurant in the popular
beachside resort area of Jimbaran, about 30 kilometers south of the main tourism hub
of Kuta. Reports said another two or three explosions occurred in Kuta.
Local television and radio reports said two near simultaneous blasts occured at about
6.45pm at the packed Teba Cafe, which is popular with foreign tourists and located
nearby the Four Seasons Resort Hotel. Several people were killed and five Korean
tourists were among those injured by the blasts, detikcom online news portal
reported. Another blast hit the Raja Cafe bar and restaurant in Kuta Town Square at
6.42pm. Unconfirmed reports said there were also two small explosions near the Hard
Rock Cafe and one near the Westin Hotel in Nusa Dua.
Police have cordoned off the areas and ordered people in the vicinity to leave. Officers
confirmed there had been terrorist attacks but could not immediately give further
information.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the attacks and called for swift
action to help the casualties and track down the perpetrators, said presidential
spokesman Andi Mallarangeng. He said the president had no immediate plans to visit
Bali but had held a meeting with top security officials at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport
in East Jakarta. Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo
Adisutjipto, National Police chief General Sutanto and State Intelligence Agency chief
Syamsir Siregar all reportedly flew to Bali later on Saturday.
On October 12, 2002, bomb blasts at two nightclubs in Kuta killed 202 people, mostly
foreign tourists. The attacks were blamed on regional terrorism network Jemaah
Islamiyah, which has also been accused of responsibility for the August 2003
bombing at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel that killed 12 people, and the September 2004
blast at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta that killed 11 people.
Two of the masterminds of the Bali, Marriott and embassy bombings, Malaysian
citizens Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top, remain at large. Yudhoyono last
month warned that Jemaah Islamiyah was quite likely to strike in September or
October.
The latest Bali bombings will no doubt divert attention from Yudhoyono's decision to
significantly raise fuel prices on October 1. Premium gasoline has been increased
from Rp2,400 a liter to 4,500, diesel from Rp2,100 to Rp4,300 and kerosene from
Rp700 to Rp2,000.
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