So Monday we packed all our neglected warm clothes and headed to Denpasar airport to commence the long flight back to Paris. On the way we passed a mobbed police headquarters where journalists and citizens swarmed the fence taking photos and asking questions. Unsure of what had happened we quickly learned from the taxi driver that 5 suspected terrorists had been shot by police in Sanur the night before. He said (this has not been confirmed by other sources) the suspected terrorists had been planning a bombing on Nypei (March 23rd). Nyepi is the renowned Balinese holiday where, following a night of celebration with statues and parades, everyone in Bali retreats into their homes, shuts off all the lights and is compleatly silent. The idea is the night of racous festivities before will attract the evil spirits however the following day (Nyepi) they will discover the island silent and beliving it is deserted the bad spirits will leave the island in peace for another year. Michel the taxi driver and I all agree in horror that a terorist bombing on Nyepi would be symbolically atrocious. I dont want to imagine the reaction.
Since returning to Paris I've been looking for further information on the 5 terror suspects and the attempted arrest which turned into a shoot out. Here is what I've found. Police fatally shot five men who were allegedly planning to rob money changers, jewelers and other targets in Bali to fund terrorist attacks. Several semiautomatic guns, ammunition and masks were found during raids on the bungalow and boarding house where the men where staying late Sunday. In addition to weapons and masks, sketches of robbery targets were found. Members of Detachment 88 (Bali's elite anti-terrorist task force) swooped in Sunday night to surround the bungalow used by the suspects near Sanur beach and a boarding house nine miles away, sparking the deadly shootouts, police said.According to convicted militants, the cell's goal had been to raise money through armed robberies and other illegal activities so they could launch a series of attacks on Western targets and carry out high-profile assassinations. Deadly attacks since the infamous Bali bombing in Kuta which killed over 200 include attacks on an embassy, hotels and restaurants. Almost all are blamed on the al-Qaida-linked militant network, Jemaah Islamiyah, and a violent splinter group.
Following the arrest and conviction of hundreds of militants discovered in a jihadi training camp in Aceh a string of armed robberies, most of which took place on Sumatra, have since been linked to this particular cell.Police got a tip that the men (including Jayakusuma, who was linked to a particularly violent robbery on a bank in Sumatra's capital) arrived in Bali late Saturday.They slept in different places the first night and regrouped Sunday morning to survey potential targets. This is when they were meet and shot by Bali police. Source: AP
