Bali “bomber” admits to al-Qaida connection

THE man police say confessed to carrying out the Bali nightclub bombing has admitted to being associated with al-Qaida’s South-East Asian terror chief, Indonesian police said yesterday.

Imam Samudra, 40, was arrested last Thursday and officers said he confessed to being responsible for the blasts that killed almost 200 people, including about 30 British tourists.

Intelligence sources said he was acting on orders from Riduan Isamuddin, known as Hambali, the alleged operations chief of the terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida.

"At the beginning he (Samudra) denied knowing Hambali, but when we showed him the evidence he finally admitted to knowing Hambali. He met him in Malaysia," National Police Chief General Da'i Bachtiar said yesterday in Jakarta.

The revelation strengthens claims by intelligence officials in both Indonesia and elsewhere in the region that Jemaah Islamiyah was behind the blasts the worst terror act since the September 11 attacks in the US.

Hambali has been implicated in operations ranging from logistical support for the September 11 hijackers to bombings in Indonesia and the Philippines.

In Singapore, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday warned that the Bali attack "reinforced our fear that South-East Asia has become the new theatre of operation for al-Qaida".

Authorities are hoping Samudra's capture will lead them to Hambali, who remains Southeast Asia's most wanted man.