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Bali bomb suspect says attack was a message to US
Denpasar (Indonesia), Aug 27: A man who admitted helping mix chemicals used in the Bali bombs said today the attack on western holiday-makers which killed 202 people was intended as a warning to the United States.
Denpasar (Indonesia), Aug 27: A man who admitted helping mix chemicals used in the Bali bombs said today the attack on western holiday-makers which killed 202 people was intended as a warning to the United States.
Abdul Goni, testifying in the trial of key Bali
bombing suspect Ali Imron, said the main targets of the
bombings in October last year were Americans.
"This is a message for America to stop acting arbitrarily," Goni told the court.
The blasts that ripped through two packed nightclubs in Bali's Kuta district killed 164 foreigners - including 88 Australians and seven Americans - and 38 Indonesians.
Police say the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror network staged the attack to avenge western oppression of Muslims in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
JI is also blamed for the car bombing on august 5 at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, which killed 12 people, and a string of other deadly attacks.
Goni, who also admitted attending one of the bomb planning sessions in august last year, said he was obliged to fight infidels who were hostile to Islam.
"I was told that there were many Americans here (in Bali)," said Goni, who is on trial separately.
Asked by the judge why his version of jihad (holy war or struggle) should involve killings, Goni said: "If that's what it takes, that's what we will do."
Goni said he went to Bali in early October after receiving a mobile phone text message telling him he had unfinished business.
Bureau Report
"This is a message for America to stop acting arbitrarily," Goni told the court.
The blasts that ripped through two packed nightclubs in Bali's Kuta district killed 164 foreigners - including 88 Australians and seven Americans - and 38 Indonesians.
Police say the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror network staged the attack to avenge western oppression of Muslims in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
JI is also blamed for the car bombing on august 5 at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, which killed 12 people, and a string of other deadly attacks.
Goni, who also admitted attending one of the bomb planning sessions in august last year, said he was obliged to fight infidels who were hostile to Islam.
"I was told that there were many Americans here (in Bali)," said Goni, who is on trial separately.
Asked by the judge why his version of jihad (holy war or struggle) should involve killings, Goni said: "If that's what it takes, that's what we will do."
Goni said he went to Bali in early October after receiving a mobile phone text message telling him he had unfinished business.
Bureau Report