YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia -- Early Sunday morning, the Indonesian government executed three men convicted of the 2002 Bali Bombings, ending a controversial period of postponements, court appeals and international media attention. Now, counter-terrorism officials and the public are braced for possible retaliatory attacks that the men -- who operated under Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group held responsible for most of the bombings that hit the country from 2000 to 2005 -- had promised. The 2002 Bali bombings killed over 200 people and remain the deadliest terrorist attack after 9/11. The executions, the first of Muslim extremists carried out under the country's new terrorism laws, are widely seen as an important test for the nation, which has registered successes lately in its counter-terrorism efforts. An innovative deradicalization program, which includes financial incentives and job training, has persuaded about two-dozen former JI members to cooperate with authorities, and there has not been a major terrorist attack since 2005.
Bali Bombers Tied to ‘Ngruki Network’
