'Osama bin Laden funded 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia'

'Osama bin Laden funded 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia'

2012-03-27 12:22:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (BNO NEWS) -- Former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan last year, funded the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia, according to Monday's court statements by a convicted terrorist.

At the West Jakarta District Court during Umar Patek's trial, who was one of the most wanted terrorists in Indonesia for the first Bali bombing in 2002 that killed 202 people, including 88 Australian nationals and other foreign citizens, convicted terrorist Mohammad Ihsan said the money behind the bombings had come from bin Laden.

According to Ihsan's statements, bin Laden paid $30,000 to fund the attack, which was used to buy a Mitsubishi L300 minibus that was used to deliver the bombs, two motorcycles, bomb-making materials and for living expenses.

Ihsan, who was released in 2009 after serving his prison term for his role in the terrorist attacks, is now a witness in Patek's trial. He added that there were more funds to support the bomb attacks, although he did not know where the money had come from.

Former al-Qaeda-linked terrorist Jemaah Islamiyah Umar Patek, 44, also known as Abdul Goni and Abu Syiekh, is the main suspect behind the October 2, 2002, bombings, which were carried out in Paddy's Pub and Sari Club in one of Bali's most popular tourist district in Legian, Kuta.

He is also believed to have been a member of a group which carried out military and fighting exercises in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s.

On January 25, 2011, Patek, whose role in the attack was first signaled out by other fellow terrorists who had been previously arrested, was detained in Abbottabad, Pakistan, almost 10 years after the attack and only a few weeks before U.S. security forces killed former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the same area.

Pakistani authorities extradited Patek back to Indonesia in August 2011. He had been placed under the United States' Rewards for Justice program with a $1 million reward for his capture and is facing a number of charges, which could lead to a sentence of life imprisonment. Among those charges are premeditated murder, bomb-making, and possession of firearms.

In 2008, three other convicted terrorists in the bombing case were executed by a firing squad. They were Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron.

After the Bali bombing, Patek was believed to have fled to the Philippines but was later arrested in Pakistan. Despite his eventual capture, Patek's arrest in Pakistan has raised questions about Indonesia's security and how the top terrorist fugitive could have fled the country in the first place.

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