Aussie travel warning for Indonesia following arrest of Bali bombing suspect in Pak
April 1st, 2011 - 5:02 pm ICT by ANIMelbourne, Apr 1(ANI): Australia’s Foreign Affairs Department has said that the arrest of 2002 Bali bombing suspect, Umar Patek, may spark a violent response against Westerners by extremists in Indonesia.
The department released an updated travel advisory for Indonesia after confirming that Patek was arrested several weeks ago in Pakistan following a tipoff from the CIA.
The 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali had killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Patek is suspected to have been Jemaah Islamiyah’s deputy field commander during the bombings, and personally helped build the car bomb that ripped through the Sari Club.
The travel advisory said that Patek’s arrest “may increase the risk of violent responses in Indonesia in the short term”.
“Information in March 2011 indicates that terrorists may be planning attacks in Indonesia which could take place at any time,” the Age quoted the advisory, as saying.
A spokeswoman for the department declined to comment on what that information was.
“We consider that any terrorist attacks are more likely to focus on places where large numbers of Westerners gather, including, but not limited to, tourist areas in islands such as Bali [and] Jakarta,” the spokeswoman said. (ANI)
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