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CNN Sunday Morning
Night Club Bombings in Indonesia Kill Over 180
Aired October 13, 2002 - 11:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Last night's deadly night club bombings at a tourist resort in Indonesia are being called an act of terrorism. The death toll from the attack at Kuta on the island of Bali is almost 200 now. CNN's Atika Shubert is on the phone now from Kuta with the very latest.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, it's been almost exactly 24 hours since two bombs struck night clubs in the Kuta area, packed with weekenders enjoying their time at the night clubs there. And it's been a horrific day, as you say. More than 180 people have been killed. More than 200 wounded, some of them very seriously with very serious third degree burns all over their body.
Now, there is -- hospitals here have been overwhelmed with the injured as well as the dead. In fact, the morgue that we saw was -- just didn't have enough space for the bodies that kept coming in.
But there appears to be some relief. Australian government has brought in two Hercules military aircraft into Bali, waiting to evacuate those that are critically injured and need immediate attention. Now, of course, Australia is one of those countries most deeply affected by this terrorist act. Many of the victims were Australians. It now appears that most of the victims were actually visiting tourists, although there are quite a few Indonesians, and most of those tourists were Australian -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Atika, you know, Bali is not a place that most think of when they think of terrorist attacks or any level of danger -- that explains the number of tourists that you have in that area there. People have sort of a sense of security, don't they? The majority of the tourists who converge?
SHUBERT: That's absolutely right, Fredricka. In fact, Bali has always been seen as a sort of haven of peace and tranquility, despite the ups and downs of Indonesia's political stability. In fact, even though that there had been some concern of terrorist threats in other parts of Indonesia, specifically against U.S. embassy facilities in the capital of Jakarta, or in the East Java town of Serebaia (ph), Bali was considered a relatively safe place to be.
As it turns out, that is not the case. This terrorist act has specifically targeted foreigners, tourists coming to the island of Bali, and this has frightened quite a few people -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Atika Shubert, thank you very much for joining us on the phone there. Well, consequently, the United States is, of course, condemning the bombings on Bali. And as the investigation gets under way there, the U.S. is watching the situation very closely. Just three days ago, the State Department warned American diplomatic posts abroad about possible terrorist attacks by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, and a travel warning has been in effect for Indonesia for more than a year now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RALPH BOYCE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO INDONESIA: There have been problems in Indonesia of late involving signs that al Qaeda may have been involved in activities here. And indeed, some more details in the last few weeks that we've brought to light that indicate that their presence here, that we've always suspected, is in fact one that we can now more or less confirm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Because of terror concerns, the American embassy in Jakarta is reevaluating the extent of its presence in Indonesia, and that's according to a statement on the embassy's Web site right now.
The United States is concerned about terrorist activities in much of Southeast Asia, in fact, and there is a special concern about al Qaeda activities in Indonesia specifically, the world's biggest Muslim nation. CNN's Jakarta bureau chief, Maria Ressa, joins us now from Manila, in the Philippines, with more on that part of the story -- Maria.
MARIA RESSA, CNN JAKARTA BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Fredricka, I've spent much of the last few hours speaking with intelligence officials across the region, as well as counterterrorist and al Qaeda experts. What's interesting is they point out why these attacks have al Qaeda's fingerprints all over it.
First, the coordinated simultaneous bombings, the MO, if you will, is actually a tactic that's outlined in al Qaeda's training manual. Second, the attacks took place during the anniversary of the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole. Third, coordinated, simultaneous bombings at the U.S. and Philippine consulates, as well as the attack on the economic lifeline of Indonesia -- tourism is Indonesia's third largest dollar earner -- that is mentioned in one of the videotapes released last week by an al Qaeda leader, a switch in tactic to attacking economic lifelines.
Finally, counterterrorist expert Rohan Gunaratna, who wrote a book on al Qaeda, says that there's only one group in Southeast Asia that is actually able to carry out, not only have the intent but to have the operational capability to carry out this attack, this successful attack. That's a group called Jemaah Islamiah. This group finds its roots way back in the early '90s in the Southeast Asia. Its leader, Abu Bakar Bashir (ph), is an Indonesian cleric wanted for arrest by Singapore and Malaysia. Yet he is living freely in Indonesia, where he is campaigning for an Islamic state. He's been linked to a grenade blast outside a U.S. embassy home in Jakarta on September 23.
Finally his deputy, Hambali, a man named Riduan Isamabudian, aka Hambali. Hambali first surfaced in Southeast Asia in 1995, with a terrorist cell linked to Ramzi Youssef, the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and the man that U.S. authorities say is a key planner of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Hambali rose up al Qaeda's ranks in Southeast Asia. He went on to become the leader, a deputy of Hambali, and is blamed by authorities for a simultaneous series of bombing attacks very similar to what happened here that happened in December of 2000 -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Maria Ressa, thank you very much for joining us from Manila. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 13, 2002 - 11:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Last night's deadly night club bombings at a tourist resort in Indonesia are being called an act of terrorism. The death toll from the attack at Kuta on the island of Bali is almost 200 now. CNN's Atika Shubert is on the phone now from Kuta with the very latest.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, it's been almost exactly 24 hours since two bombs struck night clubs in the Kuta area, packed with weekenders enjoying their time at the night clubs there. And it's been a horrific day, as you say. More than 180 people have been killed. More than 200 wounded, some of them very seriously with very serious third degree burns all over their body.
Now, there is -- hospitals here have been overwhelmed with the injured as well as the dead. In fact, the morgue that we saw was -- just didn't have enough space for the bodies that kept coming in.
But there appears to be some relief. Australian government has brought in two Hercules military aircraft into Bali, waiting to evacuate those that are critically injured and need immediate attention. Now, of course, Australia is one of those countries most deeply affected by this terrorist act. Many of the victims were Australians. It now appears that most of the victims were actually visiting tourists, although there are quite a few Indonesians, and most of those tourists were Australian -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Atika, you know, Bali is not a place that most think of when they think of terrorist attacks or any level of danger -- that explains the number of tourists that you have in that area there. People have sort of a sense of security, don't they? The majority of the tourists who converge?
SHUBERT: That's absolutely right, Fredricka. In fact, Bali has always been seen as a sort of haven of peace and tranquility, despite the ups and downs of Indonesia's political stability. In fact, even though that there had been some concern of terrorist threats in other parts of Indonesia, specifically against U.S. embassy facilities in the capital of Jakarta, or in the East Java town of Serebaia (ph), Bali was considered a relatively safe place to be.
As it turns out, that is not the case. This terrorist act has specifically targeted foreigners, tourists coming to the island of Bali, and this has frightened quite a few people -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Atika Shubert, thank you very much for joining us on the phone there. Well, consequently, the United States is, of course, condemning the bombings on Bali. And as the investigation gets under way there, the U.S. is watching the situation very closely. Just three days ago, the State Department warned American diplomatic posts abroad about possible terrorist attacks by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, and a travel warning has been in effect for Indonesia for more than a year now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RALPH BOYCE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO INDONESIA: There have been problems in Indonesia of late involving signs that al Qaeda may have been involved in activities here. And indeed, some more details in the last few weeks that we've brought to light that indicate that their presence here, that we've always suspected, is in fact one that we can now more or less confirm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Because of terror concerns, the American embassy in Jakarta is reevaluating the extent of its presence in Indonesia, and that's according to a statement on the embassy's Web site right now.
The United States is concerned about terrorist activities in much of Southeast Asia, in fact, and there is a special concern about al Qaeda activities in Indonesia specifically, the world's biggest Muslim nation. CNN's Jakarta bureau chief, Maria Ressa, joins us now from Manila, in the Philippines, with more on that part of the story -- Maria.
MARIA RESSA, CNN JAKARTA BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Fredricka, I've spent much of the last few hours speaking with intelligence officials across the region, as well as counterterrorist and al Qaeda experts. What's interesting is they point out why these attacks have al Qaeda's fingerprints all over it.
First, the coordinated simultaneous bombings, the MO, if you will, is actually a tactic that's outlined in al Qaeda's training manual. Second, the attacks took place during the anniversary of the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole. Third, coordinated, simultaneous bombings at the U.S. and Philippine consulates, as well as the attack on the economic lifeline of Indonesia -- tourism is Indonesia's third largest dollar earner -- that is mentioned in one of the videotapes released last week by an al Qaeda leader, a switch in tactic to attacking economic lifelines.
Finally, counterterrorist expert Rohan Gunaratna, who wrote a book on al Qaeda, says that there's only one group in Southeast Asia that is actually able to carry out, not only have the intent but to have the operational capability to carry out this attack, this successful attack. That's a group called Jemaah Islamiah. This group finds its roots way back in the early '90s in the Southeast Asia. Its leader, Abu Bakar Bashir (ph), is an Indonesian cleric wanted for arrest by Singapore and Malaysia. Yet he is living freely in Indonesia, where he is campaigning for an Islamic state. He's been linked to a grenade blast outside a U.S. embassy home in Jakarta on September 23.
Finally his deputy, Hambali, a man named Riduan Isamabudian, aka Hambali. Hambali first surfaced in Southeast Asia in 1995, with a terrorist cell linked to Ramzi Youssef, the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and the man that U.S. authorities say is a key planner of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Hambali rose up al Qaeda's ranks in Southeast Asia. He went on to become the leader, a deputy of Hambali, and is blamed by authorities for a simultaneous series of bombing attacks very similar to what happened here that happened in December of 2000 -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Maria Ressa, thank you very much for joining us from Manila. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
