Steve Quayle News Alerts

Oct. 13, 2002

BALI, Indonesia - A massive car bomb destroyed a crowded nightclub on the tourist island of Bali on Saturday, sparking a devastating fire that killed at least 187 people and wounded another 309 - many of them foreigners. The national police chief said the attack was “worst act of terror in Indonesia's history.”

ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY, a second bomb exploded near the island’s U.S. consular office, authorities said. Police said there were no casualties in that explosion, but the Embassy was on edge Sunday after its recreation club in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, was evacuated because of a bomb threat.

The blasts came three days after the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide alert for terror attacks and highlighted fears by the United States and others that Indonesia — the most populous Muslim nation — is becoming a haven for terrorists and that al-Qaida operatives are active.

There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing in the Sari Club at the Kuta Beach resort, which officials said killed Indonesians along with Australians, Canadians, Britons, and Swedes.

In a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Washington offered help in tracking down those responsible for the attack.

“The United States government condemns in the strongest possible terms this despicable act of terror,” the statement said. “The United States has offered all appropriate assistance to ... see that those responsible for this cowardly act face justice.”

A statement posted on the U.S. mission’s Web site said the United States was reevaluating its presence there.

“The embassy is currently re-evaluating the extent of its presence in Indonesia,” the statement said.
“Americans visiting or residing in Indonesia are advised to examine the necessity of continuing to remain.”

CENTER OF TOURISM
“This is the worst act of terror in Indonesia’s history,” Gen. Da’i Bachtiar, the national police chief, said at the site of the blast. “We have to be more alert for other acts of terror.”

Bachtiar said the bomb exploded in a Kijanj, a jeep-like vehicle.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri, whose government has been accused by Washington and its neighbors of being slow to respond to the terror threat, flew to Bali and promised to cooperate with the international community in fighting terrorism.

The government’s crisis center in Bali said 187 people had died and that 309 were hurt, about 90 of them critically.

“The bombings, once again, should be a warning for all of us that terrorism constitutes a real danger and potential threat to the national security,” Megawati said. She later visited the site, tears in her eyes, with security ministers and top generals.

Asked about the suspected origins of the bombers or a possible link to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network, she said: “That will be continuously investigated to that this can be uncovered as soon as possible.”

The explosion went off about 11 p.m. and left a huge crater at the entrance to the nightclub, which was located in the center of Kuta. It is Bali’s biggest tourist area and a maze of clubs, restaurants, shops, hotels and beach bungalows. It caters to a younger crowd of tourists and surfers.

EXPLOSION IGNITED BLAZE
The blast ignited a huge blaze — apparently caused by exploding gas cylinders — which collapsed the flimsy roof structure, trapping hundreds of revelers inside.

“The place was packed, and it went up within a millisecond,” Simon Quayle, the coach of an Australian rules football team, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Quayle, whose team was visiting Bali, said he made it safely out of the building but eight of his 19 players were missing.

The blaze then engulfed a nearby nightclub before racing through about 20 other buildings on the block.

The second explosive detonated a few minutes after the first in the nearby city of Denpasar, Bali’s capital, about 300 feet from a U.S. consular office, Bali police spokesman Lt. Col. Yatim Suyatmo said.

A bomb squad was investigating both blasts but Indonesian officials declined to provide a motive or blame any group.

Suyatmo said police believed all the explosive devices were home-made bombs.

MANY AUSTRALIANS AMONG CASUALTIES
Australia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer blamed it on terrorism. “It looks as though this was a terrorist attack,” he said on Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.

He said he believed the Sari nightclub was targeted because it was popular with Australians and other foreigners. He said Australians were almost certainly among the dead, estimating that at least 40 Australians were injured, about 15 of them seriously.

Later Sunday, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he will launch a review of national security in the wake of the attack. He said the attack demonstrated Australia was not immune from terrorism.

Wayan Putra, a driver at a nearby hotel, said that after the blast, hundreds of townspeople rushed toward the nightclub but could not get near it because of the flames.

White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo said Washington was monitoring the situation and working with Indonesian authorities. U.S. officials said they didn’t know if there were any Americans among the casualties.

ANNIVERSARY OF USS COLE ATTACK
The blasts occurred on the second anniversary of the al-Qaida linked attack against the USS Cole in Yemen that left 17 sailors dead. Australia has also been one of the staunchest U.S. allies in Washington’s “war on terrorism” and has 150 elite troops serving in Afghanistan.

Indonesian officials have denied the claims that terrorists are using Indonesia as a base. But the U.S. Embassy there 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 embassy, killing one man. There was conflicting information as to whether the device was meant to harm Americans.

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.

But NBC News’ Ned Colt reported from Hong Kong that while there has been political violence in the Jakarta, Sulawesi and other cities in recent months, Bali had been relatively unaffected. The explosions were the first serious violence to hit Bali since 1998.

Although elements of al-Qaida are thought to operate in Indonesia, Megawati has found it difficult to crack down on fundamentalist groups because of resistance from the nation’s large Muslim population.

“This action has the fingerprint of a terrorist operation,” terrorism expert Walid Phares said on MSNBC TV. “Although Bali is a tourist destination, it is not far from a vast area of jihad activities in the Moluccas Islands and in Poso.”

“At the same time, we have monitored over the past few months and weeks releases by al-Qaida sympathizers in the region saying that they would strike against both secular objectives and American interests,” said Phares, an associate professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University.

BLOW TO BALI’S TRANQUILITY
Putra, the driver, said dozens who were injured in the explosion were evacuated by drivers who normally ferry tourists from one part of the resort to another.

Australia tourist Rachel Hughes, 18, said she and a friend had just arrived in Kuta when the blast occurred.

“Standing in the foyer of the Bounty Hotel, people were just walking in, blood dripping off them, burns to their face, skin coming off them,” she told Australia’s Seven Network.

Downer, Australia’s foreign minister, said Australia had sent an air force plane with a medical team to Bali to help the local hospitals and to possibly evacuate wounded Australians.

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.

“Bali has always, always been safe. We depend on tourism for our livelihood. Our name has been smeared by this horrible blast,” said Putra, the driver.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/820505.asp