The Bali BombingsClaimed to be the worst terrorist attack seen in Indonesian history, the 2002 Bali Bombings caused the deaths and critical injuries of numerous national and international civilians, those witnesses of the atrocity being unable to forget the incident. With the terrorist plot having been in the making for 10 months, all extremists involved were readily prepared to risk their lives in order to carry out these senseless and murderous acts, some dying as the explosives were detonated, whilst many others were captured and executed for the involvement in the incident.
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All Bad Things Come in Threes
The 12th October, 2002, a series of bombing attacks were made on numerous tourist hotspots in Bali, inflicting significant structural damage and taking the lives of many involved. The first phase of the bombing, less commonly remembered by those uninvolved witnesses of the incident, featured outside the U.S. Consulate in Denpasar, as an explosive was set off near the entrance of the building in an attempt to make a direct and brutal statement against the Americans. As of yet, no fatalities and few non-critical injuries were recorded. The secondary stage of the attack occurred within ‘Paddy’s Irish Bar’, where a bomb concealed in a backpack was detonated indoors, strategically leading victims into the exposure of the street. Within a short distance of the previous bomb site, the final blast occurred directly afterwards, an explosive being detonated in a car outside a local nightclub ‘Sari’, which was a scene frequented by tourists. As a result of the attacks, 202 people were left dead, and a further 100 injured, with many of the victims being foreign to Indonesia. Sadly, 164 of the total victims were known to be tourists, with the majority of these deceased targets being Australians.
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Revenge Turns Into Hate CrimesWith this incident being the seventh significant bombing of Bali to have occurred within a 3 week period, it was apparent that the site was a particular interest of the terrorists, most likely due to being frequented by tourists. With the deliberate targeting of the U.S. Consulate Building, and the murders of numerous U.S. visitors, rumours began circulating within the media suggesting that the intended targets had, all along, been the Americans within Bali. After capturing several perpetrators of the crime, the police were informed that, during questioning with Ali Imron, Bali was chosen as the area of attack due to being “frequented by Americans and their associates”. In defending the extremists' action, another guilty bomber, Imam Samudra, stated that he believed them to be “defending” all Afghans from the cruelty of the “Americans”, and seeking “revenge” for their harsh treatment of the Muslims. Even after being arrested, these ruthless criminals remained proud in their slaughtering of 7 Americans, and whilst several of the bombers voiced guilt in their murdering of 88 Australian people, it was clear that it was also their intention to slaughter the citizens of Australia.
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(Above) Bomber, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, whom was executed on the 9th November, 2008, after being found guilty of the 2002 incident.
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