Militant Wanted To Be a Bomber: Denpasar, Bali

An Islamic militant confessed in court yesterday that he had offered to become a suicide bomber before the blasts that ripped through three restaurants on Bali last year.

Four men are being prosecuted under anti,terror laws for their alleged roles in the Oct. 1st 2005 attacks in which three suicide bombers blew themselves up in packed restaurants killing 20 people. In the opening trial in May prosecutors said suspect Anif Solchanuddin underwent training to become a suicide bomber.

The reason why Solchanuddin did not become a suicide bomber in the 2005 Bali attacks remains unclear but he is also accused of delivering bombs to one of Southeast Asia’s top fugitives, Noordin Top, after the blasts. All four could face the death penalty if convicted. Police say Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Top planned the 2005 Bali attacks and were leading figures in the al Qaeda linked Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiah.

Jemaah Islamiah is blamed by authorities for terror strikes in the region, including the 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners partying on the tourist island.

And soon the spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashyir, will be released from his comfy resort jail cell. Bashir, seen by Western countries as the spiritual leader of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah regional militant network was convicted of being part of a conspiracy behind the bombings that killed 202 people on the resort island.

I shudder to think what he has planned in vengeance for his incarceration.