Bali nightclub bombings of 2002 were terrorist acts that took place on the Indonesian island of Bali in Southeast Asia on Oct. 12, 2002. A suicide bomber blew himself up in a nightclub, causing patrons to flee into the street. There, a car bomb exploded. The Islamic extremist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) organized and carried out the bombings, which killed 202 people.
Background.
Jemaah Islamiyah traces its roots to the mujahideen, the Muslim fighters who opposed the Soviet Union’s occupation of the southwestern Asian nation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. Like many extremist religious movements, JI believes that all social, political, and economic problems are caused by immorality and religious failings. It seeks to replace existing governments with a strict theocracy (religious rule) based on the Sharī`a (Islamic law). Members of JI are taught to believe that they must either live in an Islamic state or fight to achieve it, even if it requires that they die as martyrs. Martyrs are people who die for their religious beliefs.
After the United States invaded Afghanistan following the September 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. targets in 2001, JI sought to attack Americans and citizens of countries that supported the war in Afghanistan. JI saw attacks on such targets as part of a jihad (holy war).
The island of Bali is a popular tourist destination, particularly for Western travelers. In addition to its sandy beaches, Bali has many nightclubs, restaurants, and resort hotels. For these reasons, JI chose to attack Bali.
The bombings.
Shortly after 11 p.m. on the night of Oct. 12, 2002, a suicide bomber entered Paddy’s, a bar in Bali’s Kuta district, and detonated an explosive device in his backpack. Patrons fled the building. Shortly after the first explosion, a minivan rigged with a car bomb exploded in front of the Sari Club, across the street from Paddy’s. This second, larger explosion set the Sari Club on fire, trapping patrons inside. It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, which, along with the explosions, badly damaged neighboring buildings.
The twin attacks killed 202 people from 22 countries. The dead included 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians. More than 200 others were injured.
Aftermath.
Indonesian police attributed the attacks to JI and soon identified Imam Samudra as the mastermind behind the bombings. Police arrested Samudra in November as he prepared to flee the country. Several other men who had provided materials for the attack or who had helped build the bombs were captured in the following months. Those who were captured were put on trial. Most were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Samudra and two others who were directly involved in planning the attack were sentenced to death and were executed in November 2008. Several other men suspected of taking part in the bombings eluded capture but were killed in antiterror operations in the years following the attacks.
In 2004, JI’s leader, Abu Bakar Ba`asyir (also spelled Bashir), was arrested over his suspected involvement in the August 2003 bombing of a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital. He was also charged with being an accomplice in the Bali bombings. He was acquitted of the Jakarta bombing, but was convicted and sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison for involvement in the Bali attack.
On Oct. 12, 2004, the second anniversary of the Bali attack, a memorial was unveiled on the site of Paddy’s bar. The memorial features the names and nationalities of the 202 victims of the bombings.
