A new drama series is set to premiere on Thursday (March 16) that looks back to a devastating terrorist attack that rocked the Indonesian island of Bali in 2002. Airing on ITV’s streaming platform ITVX, Bali 2002 will explore how everyday heroes from Bali, Australia and around the world, defied the odds to bring order from chaos and hope from despair during the 2002 Bali bombings.
The four-part series has developed in consultation with those directly impacted by the tragedy. The attack took place on October 12, 2002, in the popular tourist region of Kuta Beach during one of the busiest periods of the year.
It started when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb inside the packed Paddy’s Pub nightclub. The ensuing chaos saw the many injured and uninjured patrons flood out into the streets.
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Twenty seconds later, a second bomb hidden inside a van was detonated outside the Sari Club, an open-air bar opposite Paddy’s Pub. The attack claimed hundreds of victims, while many survivors were left with horrific burns and other injuries.
Both the local and international tourists scrambled to escape, to rescue the injured and to comfort the dying. A third, smaller bomb was also detonated outside the US consulate in Denpasar, which caused minor injuries to one person and minimal property damage.
Australian and Indonesian authorities not only mobilised to evacuate survivors and identify victims, but to hunt down those responsible. But who carried out the attack and what happened to them?
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Who carried out the Bali 2002 terrorist attack and what happened to them?
A week after the Bali bombings, Australian newspaper The Age reported that the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera aired a recorded voice message purported to be of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. Though the man identified as bin Laden did not claim responsibility for the attacks, he said they were in retaliation for support of the United States’ war on terror and Australia's role in the liberation of East Timor.
The attacks were carried out by members of the Islamist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Islamic teacher Huda bin Abdul Haq – known as Mukhlas – was convicted as the co-ordinator of the bombings.
He chose the targets and secured the financing for the attack. He also recruited two of his younger brothers, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Ali Imron.
Mukhlas is believed to have chaired preparatory meetings with Imam Samudra in August and September 2002. Amrozi admitted to buying chemicals used to make the bombs and the van used to carry the car bomb.
He claimed a co-conspirator, Dulmatin – nicknamed “Genius” and thought to be a senior figure in JI – helped him assemble the bombs. He also said Abdul Ghoni mixed the explosives.
Umar Patek and Ali Imron were also named as helping to create the bombs. Amrozi said the van carrying explosives had been driven to the Sari Club by a man called Jimi, who died when it exploded.
A man called Iqbal wore a bomb vest, which killed him when he detonated it at Paddy’s Pub. All those thought to have played key roles in the Bali bombings have been convicted or killed by police.
Two men alleged to have helped with crafting the bombs, JI bomb expert Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top, were killed by police in 2005 and 2009 respectively. Mukhlas, Amrozi and Samudra were executed by firing squad at the island prison of Nusakambangan on November 9, 2008, while Dulmatin was killed in a shoot-out with Indonesian police on March 9, 2010.
ITV’s Bali 2002 premieres on streaming platform ITVX on March 16.
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