Suicide Attacks Target Bali Beach Resorts Posted: October 3, 2005

A series of suicide bombings at two beach resorts in Bali, Indonesia, killed at least 22 people and wounded over 100 others.

Three separate bombs tore through restaurants packed with diners in Jimbaran Beach and Kuta Beach on October 1, 2005.  Authorities suspect that the bombers used explosive belts loaded with ball bearings to maximize the damage.  Among the dead and wounded are Indonesians, Australians, Japanese, Koreans and Americans. 

A top Indonesian anti-terror official suspects two Malaysian nationals, Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top, as masterminding the attacks.  Authorities believe that Husin and Top are key members of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group that seeks to overthrow the Indonesian government and create an Islamic state in Southeast Asia

The Bali police chief noted the similarity between the bombing and the attacks carried out nearly three years ago at a Bali nightclub.  That attack killed 202 people, including 88 Australians and several other foreigners.

The bombings at Jimbaran Beach and Kuta Beach are the latest of a series of attacks against western targets in Indonesia in recent years are expected to weaken Bali’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from the 2002 attacks.