The Australian Government knew of a possible threat to the Indonesian resort island of Bali four months before the bombing there last year, an inquiry by the country’s Senate has heard. Eighty eight Australians were among the 202 people killed in the attacks on 12 October 2002. The Australian security agency – the Office of National Assessments (ONA) – submitted to the inquiry details of a meeting with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer in which he was warned that Bali was among several possible targets of Islamic militant groups. Mr Downer has defended his decision not to issue a travel warning, saying he was given only a general warning about Bali, not specific intelligence of a planned attack. The Senate inquiry was ordered to address concerns that Australians should have been warned of the risk of a terrorist attack. Full Story
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