The alleged mastermind
of the Bali terror attack said he is happy about Tuesday's bombing
at a luxury hotel in central Jakarta, which killed at least 10 people
and injured dozens more. Imam Samudra is one of four suspects on
trial for last October's bombing on Bali. Bali bombing suspect Imam
Samudra praised God for the bombing at the J.W. Marriott hotel in
central Jakarta. He said he was happy, and would be even more so
if the bombers were Muslim.
Mr. Samudra spoke to reporters as he was led from a court in Bali's
provincial capital, Denpasar, where he was testifying at a trial
of another suspect in the Bali case.
Police describe Mr. Samudra as the brains behind the October
bombing in Bali, which killed 202 people, most of them foreign
tourists. Mr. Samudra is suspected of being a member of Jemaah
Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terror ring linked to the al-Qaida
network.
Indonesia's top security minister said Wednesday the government
is implementing a three-step plan to prevent more attacks like
Tuesday's bombing in Jakarta.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the plan includes assessing the
capabilities of Indonesia's security forces. "We will test intelligence
agencies, police, [the] immigration section to be able to detect
whether there are terrorist cells that are operating here in Indonesia," he
said.
Authorities have not said who was responsible for the Marriott
attack. But suspicion has fallen on Jemaah Islamiyah, in part because
suspected members such as Mr. Samudra have repeatedly pledged to
kill Westerners. In addition, police said similar materials and
other methods were used in both attacks.
The timing of the hotel blast is also significant. It occurred
two days before the first verdict is to be handed down in the trial
of a Bali bombing suspect. Amrozi bin Nurhaysim, who supplied the
car and the chemicals used in the blast, could receive a death
sentence when the verdict is issued on Thursday.
Like Mr. Samudra, Mr. Amrozi is also outspoken. Last week, he
sang a song he composed to gathered journalists, calling for a
holy war against Christians and Jews.
Police say they have prepared a sketch of a possible suspect
in the hotel blast. They say the former owner of the car used in
the attack gave them a description of a person who bought the car
from him.