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.