Suspect justifies Bali bombs, says God will forgive

BALI, Indonesia - A key suspect in the Bali bombings that killed 202 people told a court the carnage was justifiable according to Islamic teachings but denied he led the operation on the Indonesian tourist island last October.

Asked about the deaths of some Muslims in the bombings, Imam Samudra said on Wednesday: "If we unintentionally kill someone during jihad, God will forgive us. It was an operational error."

Samudra, a 33-year old Islamic militant, is charged with plotting and organising terror crimes causing mass casualties. The crime carries the maximum penalty of death.

"It's not my target nor purpose if the incident touched Indonesians. If it hit the infidels from the oppressing nations and their allies, that's justified in the Koran and edicts of the Prophet Mohammad," he told judges in a cross-examination.

"What's important is those infidels clearly come from nations that have been involved in the slaughtering of Muslims," he said.

Computer expert Samudra, who police say was ground leader of the attack, denied he led the bombing operation that decimated two nightclubs on the famed Kuta beach strip packed by Western revellers.

"I admit I am involved in the Bali bombings but not as a planner," he said. "I don't know who actually did it."

Samudra is among three key suspects in the Bali case who have gone on trial. Court officials said they would start the trial of the fourth key suspect, Ali Imron, on Monday.

Imron has confessed to involvement in assembling the bombs. He testified last week as a witness in the trial against elder brother Mukhlas, whom authorities believed had the overall responsibility for the Bali operation.

Indonesian officials have blamed the bombings on Jemaah Islamiah, a Southeast Asian Muslim network accused of carrying out a terror campaign in the region.

The chief security minister urged Southeast Asian countries on Wednesday to be on alert for more such attacks.

Indonesian police said last week they had arrested nine suspected Jemaah Islamiah militants and seized TNT and chemicals with explosive power 10 times that of the bombs in Bali.

Intelligence officials from several nations have linked Jemaah Islamiah to al Qaeda, the militant group Washington accused of carrying out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Some officials in the United States and other countries once considered Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, a weak link in the war on terror. However, Jakarta has won praise since Bali for a swift investigation and arrests of some 30 suspects.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Bali bomb blast