ASSOCIATED PRESS, Saturday October 12, 2002 7:09 PM ET
Bali Nightclub Bombing Kills 54
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A bomb destroyed a nightclub on the tourist island of Bali
Saturday, killing at least 54 people and injuring scores of others. Authorities said a
second bomb exploded near the island's U.S. consular office.
Fifteen foreigners were among those killed in the Sari Club at the Kuta Beach resort,
said Lt. Col. Yatim Suyatno, a police spokesman.
Witnesses said that the explosion sparked a blaze that engulfed another nearby
nightclub on the island, a tourist mecca for foreigners, particularly Australians.
A second explosive detonated about 300 feet from a U.S. consular office in the nearby
city of Denpasar, Bali's capital, Suyatno said. Police said there were no casualties in
that blast.
A bomb squad was investigating both blasts. Suyatno confirmed that both blasts were
caused by bombs but declined to provide a motive.
Suyatno said he could not provide the identities of the dead or their nationalities.
The blasts come amid increasing fears by the United States and others that
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, is becoming a safe haven for
terrorists and that al-Qaida operatives are active there.
Indonesian officials have denied the claims, but the U.S. Embassy in the national
capital of Jakarta closed Sept. 10 and remained shut for six days due to what U.S.
officials said were threats possibly linked to al-Qaida.
Days later, a hand grenade exploded in a car near a house belonging to the U.S.
Embassy in Jakarta, killing one man. There was conflicting information as to whether
the device was meant to harm Americans.
Two years ago, a blast in front of the Philippine embassy in Jakarta killed two people
and injured dozens, including the Philippine ambassador.
"We don't know if these blasts are connected," said a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman
in Jakarta who declined to be identified. She said she didn't know if there were any
Americans among the casualties.
White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo said Washington was monitoring the
situation and working with Indonesian authorities.
About 120 people were injured and were being treated in area hospitals and clinics,
said officials at Sanglah hospital in Denpasar, 600 miles east of Jakarta.
At least five Britons were among the injured, the British consulate in Indonesia said.
Police and the military are "severely restricting" access in and out of Bali from
Denpasar's Ngurah Rai airport and the area seaports in Benoa, Gilimanuk and Padang
Bai, Suyatmo said, according to a report carried by the state-run Antara news
agency.
Bali is Indonesia's premier resort island. Although Indonesia has been wracked by
ethnic and religious violence since the overthrow four years ago of former dictator
Suharto (news - web sites), Bali itself has remained quiet. Saturday's bombings are
likely to be a huge blow to Indonesia's lucrative tourism industry and might also
undermine government efforts to revive the economy.
The blasts in Bali came just hours after a small handmade bomb on Indonesia's
Sulawesi island broke three windows of the Philippine consulate in the city of
Manado, said Suleman Munde, a security guard at the building, which was closed at
the time of the explosion.
Police Lt. Col. Henjke Kuwara said the explosive device had been planted at the fence
of building.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Manado is a port city and a transit
point to the southern Philippines, close to where the Islamic militant Abu Sayyaf
group is active.
Authorities in Malaysia and Singapore have alleged that members of Jemaah
Islamiyah — a group said to be seeking to set up an Islamic state in Southeast Asia
— are based in Indonesia.
Singapore has been pressing Indonesia to arrest Jemaah Islamiyah's alleged leader,
Abu Bakar Bashir, who lives in Indonesia. But Indonesian officials say they have no
evidence against him.
Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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