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Bali bombing cleric attacks western tourists By Nick Squires in Sydney Last Updated: 1:56am GMT 25/03/2008 Western tourists in Indonesia are "maggots, snakes and worms" who should be beaten up, the alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings has told hardline Islamic followers. Abu Bakar Bashir, the cleric who was convicted of conspiracy over the Bali bombings but later cleared and released from prison after 26 months, said the island resort had been overrun by scantily-clad tourists who deserved to be attacked for their immorality. "Worms, snakes, maggots... those are animals that crawl. Take a look at Bali... those infidel...

THE three Bali bombers on death row say they are ready to die and will not be asking for a pardon. They have also expressed delight at the controversy surrounding their impending executions, saying the more pain they cause, the greater their reward in heaven. "I'm very happy, especially after hearing that John Howard is very angry with us," Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, the so-called smiling assassin, said yesterday at the island prison where he is held. "The more he is angry, the more I will get rewards from God, right? "The more I make infidels angry, the more I will...

AUSTRALIA will not appeal to Indonesia to stop the execution of three men convicted of playing key roles in the 2002 Bali bombings, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said today. Amnesty International has called on Australians to lobby Indonesian authorities to save the men, as part of its on-going campaign against capital punishment. Amrozi Nurhasyim, Ali Ghufron (alias Mukhlas) and Imam Samudera face imminent execution by firing squad for their involvement in the terrorist attacks that killed 202 people including 88 Australians. Mr Downer said despite Australia's opposition to capital punishment, the Government would not intervene. “The Australian Government won't...

THE arrests of three Jemaah Islamiah members near Phnom Penh this week were sparked by the interrogation of a key Bali bomb planner. Asian intelligence sources said Wan Min Wan Mat, a Malaysian man in custody in Kuala Lumpur who provided Bali bomber Ali Ghufron with funding for the Kuta bombs, had indicated that many of those fleeing arrest in Singapore and Malaysia in 2001 had hidden in Cambodia. That information led to a surveillance operation on the Uum Al Qura organisation, which runs a large school and mosque about 30km north of Phnom Penh. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen...

DAYS before he goes on trial for planning the Bali bombings, self-declared Indonesian terror mastermind Ali Ghufron has sent his wife a letter urging her to raise their newborn son to emulate the deeds and attitude of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. As prosecutors announced they would merge a series of charges on Ali Ghufron's co-accused, Imam Samudra, in a legal manoeuvre designed to guarantee the stiffest possible penalty for the alleged mass murderer, the man also known as Mukhlas remained unrepentant over the atrocity. He told his wife that he hoped Usamah Ali Ghufron, born early this month, would...

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Dec. 4 — A man suspected of being a senior commander in a regional terrorist network, and a mastermind of the Bali disco bombing attack, was arrested here today, the Indonesian police said. The arrest of the suspect, Ali Ghufron, better known as Mukhlas, was heralded by diplomats and security officials as a significant step in learning more about the regional terrorist network, Jemaah Islamiyah, and its links to Al Qaeda. "It's a big breakthrough, not only into the investigation of the Bali attack, but into shutting down the terrorist network here," said a senior Western diplomat. "That's...